


Love? I Think Not.

by Kassykins



Series: Love? It's complicated [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bara Sans, F/M, Gen, I'll warn you if that changes, M/M, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Stalker, Surface timeline, different au's, nothing too mature yet, post pacifist?, that's part of the mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2019-11-05 07:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 76,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17914373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kassykins/pseuds/Kassykins
Summary: Things are finally, FINALLY going right for you.You have a great foster family, made up of good honest people who actually care about you (the fact they're a different race from you is only a problem to the kind of people whose opinion you don't care about anyway).You make pretty good money at your job as a chef (even if the only reason you have that job is because the actual chef is so unreliable that the wait staff had to step up to fill the orders).You have great fun at your side gig singing in your friends band (ignoring the fact you're going to split up when you all go to different colleges...).And college! You got a scholarship to your first choice school, and are already building a good reputation with your future professors as you get a head start on your first year work (even if your choice of subject makes people look at you funny).Yes, after everything you've been through, things are finally going your way.So of course something has to come along and ruin it.A certain red-eyed skeleton who thinks they're in love with you? That'd do it.You can keep you eye out for trouble, but trouble's had his eye on you for much, much longer.





	1. Familiar Problems

**Author's Note:**

> Lately, I've been shamelessly devouring reader fics. It's not a genre I thought I would enjoy, but damn if I wasn't wrong - when they're well written, they can be really good! Check out 'Fur a Good Time Call...' by Popatochisp (my personal favourite) or 'Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady' by Tyrant_Tortoise (the one who changed my mind about the genre) if you're unconvinced.
> 
> Writing in 2nd person is pretty hard, and I'm always up for a challenge!
> 
> However, one thing I am disappointed by is the yandere style fics I've found - the victims always seem awfully dismissive or accepting of all the weird behaviour and massive red flags that would have anyone else calling the police. It just doesn't seem very realistic. (In a fanfiction. Based on a videogame. About monsters).
> 
> So why not try both? You shouldn't criticise unless you put your money where your mouth is, so I'm going to give this my best shot and write a good, second person stalker/yandere fic!
> 
> ...
> 
> Wish me luck!

It was hot as balls in the kitchen. The fire escape was open, but the summer air that blew down the alley behind the cafe was hot and dry. The ventilation barely worked, but considering your bosses constant corner-cutting, that was to be expected. You longed to tear off your heavy chefs uniform, but the constant spitting and hissing of the fats and oils all around you, waiting for any opportunity to scald your fragile skin, convinced you to keep it on. Your only relief was your ice water, refreshed every fifteen minutes to stop you passing out in the heat.

  
Your whole body ached, arms and shoulders especially, as you wiped down the stainless steel counter. It was already dark, late into the balmy night, and you could hear the fire escapes opening and closing in the alley as the staff of the neighbouring businesses went home, chatting and grumbling. It had been a long day. Tuesdays were usually pretty quiet, but a local rabbit monster decided to celebrate his birthday at your establishment – not a problem on its own, but there was never only one rabbit, never only five, never only ten... at it's worst, there had been forty monsters of various ages and sizes in the dining room, all placing orders. A great day for sales, a bad day to be the only one stuck in the kitchen. You didn't have time to peek through the serving hatch to see when they started to filter out, but you noticed as the evening passed that every other order was for table six.

  
That could only mean one thing – either a massive party of monsters was crowded around the heavy-set table, or a certain monster had shown up again. Dubbed 'Red' by the service staff due to his predictable fashion sense, whenever the guy showed up he ordered everything on the menu. EVERYTHING. Well, everything but the hot-dogs, which he ordered once and sent back to the kitchen with a single bite taken out. Being stuck in the kitchen, you had never actually met him face-to-face, and thought of him only as a living garbage can. Whenever he showed up, always sitting at table six, it was guaranteed that you weren't going to get home on time.

  
The timer went off, making you sigh as you turned it off and opened the oven. For some reason, Red had ordered two servings of lasagna tonight. Anna told you he was a skeleton – where the hell was he putting all this food? You plated it up, placing it on the serving hatch and ringing the counter bell.

  
“Order up!” you called.

  
Not waiting around, you threw the now empty lasagna pan into the sink to wash it. The second that guy stopped ordering shit, you were going home, but he was only half way through his usual glut. Nothing to do but wait.

  
The cafe you worked at was pretty popular with monsters. It was too casual and low-rent to be considered a restaurant, despite the number of dishes on offer, but the food was hearty and cheap. It kept a certain class of human customers away, but in your experience you were better off without them anyway. The owner and manager didn't care, since monsters never skipped out on the bill like humans did, and at the end of the day, money was money. If you could pay, this place would feed you.

  
Which is exactly why you were still here, close to 11 at night, waiting for that fat asses next order rather than sleeping as you had every right to be. The guy never skipped on the bill, and when he ordered everything on the menu a few times a week... you could understand the manager wanting to take care of that particular regular.

  
Hearing your name being called, you looked around to the service window, where Anna was poking her head in.

  
“What's up?” you asked, expecting the next order.

  
“He wants to talk to you.” she told you, oddly concerned.

  
“Why you gotta play the pronoun game this time of night?” you asked teasingly “You just want to make me ask who 'he' is?”

  
Anna immediately grinned, catching the joke, and made a 'ding' noise as she disappeared back through the window.

  
You sighed, making sure everything bar the oven was off, before wiping the sweat from your face and pulling the tea towel from your apron. You found the largest knife you had clean, examining your reflection in it for a moment. You weren't expecting trouble – this was an okay neighbourhood, unless it was a weekend – but luck favours the prepared. Just having a knife to hand had stopped trouble before it started more than once in the past. Using your tea towel, you pretended to be cleaning the knife as you sauntered into the dining area.

  
To your surprise, there were actually two skeletons sat at table six, but it was pretty obvious which one was Red – he was exactly as big as someone who ate the entire menu several times a week would be. At least six foot six, square frame, heavy-set... the ankles would be his weakness. The other one was taller by half, with sharp gangly limbs and a squinting scowl. Bad eyesight, take out the knees. Both had glowing red eyes.

  
Anna was at the table, clearing Red's already empty plate, while his companions was almost untouched but for a bite.

  
“thanks doll.” Red drawled, his voice surprisingly deep and gravelly, as he smirked, grabbing a nice handful of Anna's ass.

  
He stopped smirking pretty quickly when your knife slammed into the table, right between the phalanges of his other hand.

  
“Grab my sisters ass again and I'll use your bones to make tonkotsu.” you threatened.

  
You meant every word, and the look on the skeletons round face told you he knew it. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

  
“didn't mean no harm by it.” he swore “she's cute in that uniform is all.”

  
“She's sixteen.”

  
That was the boner killer, pun not intended, as he suddenly looked at Anna like she had grown a second head. His companion just cackled quietly.

  
“As much as I enjoy watching you threaten that fool, it was I who wanted to talk to you.” he admitted, smirking smugly as he leaned his head on one hand.

  
“Oh?”

  
You pulled the knife from the table, polishing it with the cloth.

  
“What can I do for you, valued customer?” you ask.

  
In your peripheral, you saw your manager sigh and shake his head. But being a massive coward, you knew he wouldn't intervene. Customer service was not your strong point, and after a long hot day over the stove, it was difficult to stop the sarcasm.

  
“The lasagne you made.” the tall skeleton began “It's garbage. I could make better than this in my sleep. In fact-”

  
“Let me guess.” you said cheerily “It's your signature dish?”

  
The skeleton looked put off by your interruption, but nodded all the same. He opened his mouth to say more, but you were more than done. This was hour fourteen of your shift, it was hot as fuck, and some asshole had just sexually harassed your little sister. 'Done' was an understatement.

  
“Cool, what else you got?” you interrupted before he could talk.

  
“Wha... excuse me?” he asked, cocking a browbone in your direction.

 

“You think you're the first man to tell me that his signature dish wasn't to his liking?” you explained “Every Italian man thinks he makes the perfect pasta sauce, but ask him to make an apple tart and he's like an ape peeling an onion. Every sunny day suburban dads think they're masters of the barbecue, just because they managed not to give their kids food poisoning for the third time in a row. You got one thing you do well? Great! Our menu had forty different dishes on it. You know how many plates of food I made today alone? Nearly three hundred! Can you make nearly three hundred plates of food, timing it perfectly so each order goes out on time, not burnt or undercooked, to the same standard every time? No, you can't, because like every other asshole looking for a problem, you ordered the one thing an the menu you can actually make just so you can complain about it not being up to 'your standard.'”

  
You actually gestured the air quotes before putting your hands on the table, staring the unimpressed diner straight in his unmoving red eyes.

  
“So I'll ask you again.” you finished “What else you got?”

  
He stared you down, just as you did him. Neither moved. His boney face was unreadable. After a few tense moments, it was Red that broke the silence.

  
“we should leave.” he said unsurely, taking his companion by the arm “boss, let's go.”

  
The other didn't move, still staring at you. Red pulled his arm with more urgency.

  
“boss, please...” he almost begged.

  
You decided not to hang around, picking up the knife and heading back to the kitchen to turn off the oven. After a few minutes, the lights on the dining floor turned off, Anna and the manager appearing through the kitchen door with their bags. The manager adjusted his comb-over before sighing.

  
“If we had any other options for chef's, you would have been fired for that.” he admitted “You can't treat customers that way.”

  
“I notice you didn't say shit when he grabbed Anna, though.” you challenged, making him fluster a little while Anna tried not to laugh.

  
“I... that's... I mean...” he floundered “I... I'll drive you home.”

* * *

 

 

Your precious day off, your one day to sleep in, was viciously interrupted as you were shaken awake.

  
“Get up get up!” Anna begged “It's an emergency!”

  
“Unless the house is on fire, no it isn't.” you grumbled, pulling the covers over your head and snuggling into your pillow.

  
“It completely is!” she swore, sitting right on top of you and continuing to shake you “I started my period and I'm out of everything!”

  
“Is it the third already?” you joked.

  
Anna whined your name, hitting your shoulder ineffectually.

  
“You check mums drawer?” you asked you.

  
“Yes, she's out too! And don't even ask about Nana, I already checked.”

  
“So go to the shop.”

  
“With red all over my butt? I'll ruin my jeans and die of embarrassment, even if I don't see anyone I know. Please please please go for me! Don't make me bleed out on the school chairs! Please please please please please!”

  
You grumbled as she continued to plead with you, settling her full weight on your prone form. If you had time to go to the shop and come back before she even left for school, it must be damn early still. Why was this girl so heavy?

  
“Where's mum?” you sighed.

  
“Left for work early.” Anna told you.

  
“Dad?”

  
“Dunno, not home.”

  
“Miles?”

  
“Stakeout, I think. I don't think he came home.”

  
Damn, you really were the only person she could ask. You heaved an almighty, theatrical sigh from under your covers.

  
“Fine.” you grumbled.

  
“Thank you thank you!” she cried, finally getting off you “You're the best!”

  
“Yeah yeah.”

  
You pulled yourself out of bed with the sluggishness fitting of one who only got five hours sleep, going to the bathroom to wash your face and teeth. Anna stood outside the entire time, almost dancing in discomfort until you were done, before rushing inside. You heard the squeal of the shower before going to get dressed, pulling on whatever on the floor was the cleanest and throwing on some trainers before going downstairs.

  
“Good morning, baby.” the expected voice greeted.

  
“Morning, Nana.” you greet back.

  
The matriarch sat in her chair, arthritic hands barely holding onto the tv remote. Not that she could see or hear it clearly any more, but she enjoyed the ritual of having it on all the same.

  
“Going to the shop for your sister?” she teased.

  
“Yes,” you sighed “Because I'm a sucker, apparently.”

  
“Because you're her hero.” Nana knew “Always taking such good care of her.”

  
“Spoiling her, you mean.”

  
Despite knowing you did it, you often couldn't help yourself. Unfortunately for Anna, from a young age puberty had hit her right in the everything, making her look a lot older than she actually was and leaving her completely unprepared for the kind of attention it bought her. It made your foster parents paranoid of any man who approached her, or any new friends she bought home – they were even a little wary of you at first, but you only ever treated her as what she was: your dumb little sister. This was apparently such a miraculous act that it earned the girls eternal love and devotion, which only made you more protective – hence your little tantrum yesterday which left a new knife dent in the table at work.

  
“Will you take Suzy with you?” your grandmother asked “She's full of beans today, she needs some wearing out.”

  
You looked at the toddler, who was currently playing godzilla with her building blocks, roaring as they fell to the ground.

  
“Fine.”

 

* * *

 

You found a list pinned to the fridge with the ingredients your foster mother needed for dinner that night, so took that with you too. It took some wrangling to get Suzy in her harness, but she was soon running down the street roaring at the neighbourhood cats and stopping to cheer at anything sporting the Paw Patrol logo. You were used to the funny looks you got when you went out with her – while monsters taking in human children was perfectly normal, it was extremely rare to happen the other way around, but after how well your foster parents had done with you, they had been all but begged to take the toddler until a permanent solution could be found. That was six month ago – you didn't think they were trying very hard.

  
You corralled the child as you approached the street, taking her hand and going over road safety with her for the million and second time. Look left, look right, look left again. Is it safe? No? Repeat until safe. Now run! Run run run before it eats you! That was always her favourite part.

  
She was still laughing as you arrived at the near empty shop.

  
“Candy!” she demanded.

  
“Breakfast.” you insisted.

  
“Breakfast candy!”

  
“You're hyper enough, ya giant purple people eater.”

  
“Gian purpur peepee eader!” she tried to copy.

  
Okay, that made you laugh. So cute!

  
You got your stuff with little fanfare, only occasionally having to put back what Suzy snuck into the basket, before heading to the tills. Before you could pick a checkout, Suzy pulled on your arm, pointing out her untied shoe, which you duly knelt down to take care of. Behind you, you heard a rattling wheeze, followed by an odd clicking sound. It repeated soon after, closer this time, so loud that it could have been right beside your ear. The sound was something straight out of a horror film, and would have scared you clear out of your skin if you didn't know better.

  
“Hey, Shug.” you greeted before even looking around “Didn't know you were working today.”

  
The gigantic skeleton leaned over his checkout, trying his best to smile through his broken teeth, broken nose, broken eye sockets... pretty much his entire face was broken. The loud rattling wheeze was just him breathing, made difficult by his injuries, the clicking that followed simply his ribs fitting back into place as his chest contracted. His entire body shuddered with every breath he took, but when he moved his long limbs he had the grace of a dancer, taking your basket from you effortlessly and placing it on his checkout.

  
Spotting him, Suzy immediately jumped up and held her arms up.

  
“Gimme some sugar!” she demanded.

  
The skeleton obliged, picking the child up and pressing his teeth to her chubby cheeks, making a 'mwah' sound before putting her back down.

  
“I wasn't supposed to work today, but I didn't feel like staying home.” he admitted, starting to check you out “Sanitary items, chocolate, pain killers... is it the third already?”

  
“Does your not wanting to stay home have anything to do with that ambulance I saw outside your house before work yesterday?”

  
Sugar flinched, looking wounded. He eyed you carefully, flinching from the pain in is broken ribs as he sighed.

  
“My brother... he... he ate a pigeon.” he told you “Just picked it up off the ground and ate it. It was still alive. It might have been okay if it hadn't been by the play park... Someone called the police, but luckily it was a friend of Miles who turned up, so they let us call the hospital instead of arresting him.”

  
Your heart sank. Sugar's brother bore a large, jagged hole in his skull, and as with all head traumas, it caused him to act a little... strange. He had improved a great deal with therapy and medication, but sometimes... well, sometimes he picked up animals and ate them alive.

  
“Recovery's not a straight line, Shug.” you reassured him “Just look at how far he's come. This is a minor set back, I promise.”

  
The skeleton smiled warmly at you, grateful for the genuine reassurance.

  
“Thank you.” he said quietly, packing your purchases in a bag.

  
He looked so sad. You could understand why: the brothers were very close. Every time Axe went back to the hospital, Sugar took it hard.

  
“Hey,” you said gently “You want to come to ours for dinner?”

  
“Is that okay?” he asked hopefully, not even pretending we was going to refuse in politeness.

  
“It's fine. I'll even cook.”

  
“I would enjoy that. I finish work at six.”

  
“Then we'll see you at six thirty.”

  
“We should finish checking out.” Sugar admitted “The manager is giving me the stink-eye.”

  
You resisted the urge to flip the manager off when you spotted them. You used to work here as well, back when you worked five different jobs. Back when you couldn't walk down the street without looking over you shoulder. Back when... it's not important. Things were different now. Better.

  
You paid the bill and took the bag in your free hand.

  
“Say bye-bye to Sugar, Suzy.” you bid.

  
“Later alligator!” she yelled, waving her arms enthusiastically.

  
“In a while, crocodile.” he played along “Take care, tiny terror!.”

  
He bid 'hello, cousin' to the person behind you, and you knew immediately it was another monster – very few humans ever stood in Sugars line anyway.

 

* * *

 

It was a few days later, as you stepped out the back door to hang the washing, that you saw Axe sat on the back porch, single red eye-light fixed in that thousand yard stare of his. You knew better than to startle him, so got on with your task and waited for him to notice you.

  
“hey.” he greeted after a few minutes.

  
“Hey.” you said back “How was the pigeon?”

  
“Bad.” he confessed “Stringy, kinda bland. What would you recommend, chef?”

  
“Plum sauce.” you told him “Goes pretty well with game birds. Also I recommend buying it from a shop. You can get them in China town. Way less likely to be infected with parasites.”

  
“Oh yeah, the one I had was full of them.” Axe laughed “Some kind of worms, I think. If I had flesh I'd be in trouble.”

  
“That's disgusting.”

  
Axe laughed again, going back to his staring as you hung the bed sheets, lifting the line higher off the ground with the long stick and propping it up. The act had long since worn a divot into the dirt and a notch in the long stick (which you assume from it's size used to be a mop, or perhaps a broom).

  
“hey.” he said again.

  
“Hey.” you echoed.

  
You half expected him to repeat the same conversation. It wouldn't be the first time.

  
“thanks for taking care of my bro. you're a real pal. i don't... i don't expect any kind of kindness from humans...”

  
Putting the now empty basket down on the porch, you walked over to the fence and leaned on it, resting your head on your arms.

  
“Me neither.” you admit.

  
Axe finally looked at you. It took him a moment to remember you properly, but you were used to that.

  
“sorry... forgot who i was talkin' to...”

  
“S'okay.”

  
“i'm going back to the hospital soon.” he admitted “just for a while. they're gonna try something new. you keep your eye on my bro for me, okay?”

  
“Of course.”

  
“hey.”

  
“Hey.”

  
“what do you recommend to go with pigeon? the last one i ate was kinda dry.”

  
“Plum sauce. I heard you can get them pretty cheap in China Town.”

  
“hey.”

  
“Hey.”

  
“heard you took care of my bro...”

* * *

 

Set up was the best time of day. No customers, no orders, and you could cut the fuck out of some vegetables. It was cathartic, starting with a pile of dirty roots, leaves and tubers and ending with containers full of ingredients, tools just waiting to be used. You were left to do it alone again – the actual chef, whose name you refused to remember, actually had been in for once when you arrived.

  
“Are you actually gonna work today, or just play on your phone all shift again?” you said in way of greeting.

  
He immediately threw a tantrum and left, shouting how he 'didn't have to put up with this'. It shocked you the first time he did it, and at a far more insignificant criticism, but after so many times you could tell from the trainers he was wearing and the fact he hadn't even removed his hat that he had had no intention of staying. Why was he still employed?

  
Oh yeah, good ol' fashioned nepotism – his father was the owner.

  
Said owner, who you saw once in a blue moon as well, had called everyone who wasn't in school in early for a staff meeting, clapping his hands to gather you all around (despite the fact you were at sat at the same table right in front of him). 

  
“Alright, everybody, thanks for coming in today.” he started.

  
You elected to stay quiet about the fact that you were all due to be in anyway. It would only prolong this.

  
“As you know, we here at the Second Chance Cafe believe in giving everybody an opportunity, not closing our doors to anyone, and being inclusive in everything we do.”

  
_If we know, why are you telling us?_  you think. Your colleagues in the cafe - former prostitutes, ex cons and recovering drug addicts - shuffled a little uncomfortably, but remained quiet, like the children in the back of the classroom desperately hoping the teacher wouldn't call on them.

  
“As such, I would like to introduce you to our newest staff member.” the owner went on “And our very first monster colleague! Ladies and gentlemen, this is Papyrus of the Fell clan! Papyrus, son, come on in!”

  
He never usually took the time to introduce new staff himself - he must be really proud of this new hire if he was taking the time. You wondered momentarily what the monsters story was that he ended up here, but at the end of the day it was none of your business. As the monster entered the room from the side office, you looked up. And up. And up. Now, there was a face you recognised. He recognised you just as well, bright red eye lights boring straight into yours as he approached. You only looked away as the owner called your name.

  
“He's going to be working with you and Dominic in the kitchen.” he told you “Isn't that nice? I'm relying on you to show him the ropes. If everything goes well, he'll be taking over your job in September, so make sure you teach him well.”

  
“Right...” you halfheartedly agreed.

  
“Well, that's it.” the owner finished, clapping his hands once again “We open soon, so let's get ready to welcome all our guests. Don't forget to smile!”

  
The entire staff kept their mouths shut as they disbanded. Damn owner was never even here, and when he was he wasted their time with this. Papyrus followed you to the kitchen, towering over you the entire time. You turned around to talk to him, but was stopped when his hand clanked loudly against the stainless steel counter behind you. He leaned down menacingly, inches away from your face.

  
“Challenge accepted.” he said.

  
“Excuse me?”

  
“You threw down the gauntlet, and I have picked it up.” he elaborated “What was the phrase you used? 'What else have you got'? Well, you're about to find out, human! I, the great and terrible Papyrus, am about to school you at your own game, and-”

  
“Cool.” you interrupted, throwing him off “Go wash your hands, service starts soon.”


	2. Coming and Going

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, the first chapter has had a great reception! Thank you so much, everyone who's read it and left kudos, and especially those of you who've left comments! Every single one has made my day.

It was about half way through the lunch rush that your new colleague realised exactly how over his head he was. You knew a perfectionist when you saw one - shoes polished to a mirror shine, trousers perfectly pressed, sleeves folded up neatly to the elbows and buttoned up, rather than scrunched - so the famous kitchen motto of 'fuck it, good enough' was clearly difficult for him to grasp. To his credit, he was methodical and quick, but like all first timers in a professional kitchen, he soon became overwhelmed.

You could already see him starting to flounder and mess up his timings, nicking his bones on knives he didn't expect to be quite that sharp and spilling scalding water on his arm as he tried to drain pasta, but when the dishes he prepared started to be sent back to the kitchen, he literally began to shake, bones clacking quietly. You actually felt bad for him - people always underestimated how stressful this kind of work really was, and he was clearly trying. On the one hand, you liked being right, but on the other, his success meant less work for you in the long run, so...

You started dropping hints as you danced around each other with hot pans and sharp knifes. The hints became instructions as he messed up more complicated things. The instructions became orders as he messed up more and more simple things. You were quite surprised to find that yelling at him was actually a fantastic motivation, and he followed your command without hesitation as you got louder.

By the time the lunch rush ended, the poor guy really needed a nice sit down. The two of you sat on the concrete step of the fire escape, picking at the plate of salad and chips between you, not saying anything for quite some time.

"You did okay, you know." you told him.

He 'humphed', clearly disagreeing. 

"The first time I did a full shift in the kitchen, I set like five things on fire, including my hair." you admitted, causing him to raise a brow bone "Everything after that was practice, practice, practice."

"Why are you trying to make me feel better?" Papyrus grumbled "We're supposed to be in competition here!"

"Competition?" you considered a moment "Nah, that's dumb. We'd be much better off working as a team. I could do without that kind of agro, y'know?"

The skeleton looked at you thoughtfully as you shoved some chips into your mouth. Even sitting, he towered over you, the pastel blue of his shirt doing nothing to soften his predatory features.

"Why did you decide to become a chef?" he finally asked.

"Didn't." you replied simply "I started here as wait staff, doing dishes and bussing tables. That first chef? Went and retired, bought a campervan with his husband so they could spend their golden years travelling the world. The owner put his son in the position rather than hire someone qualified."

You scoffed.

"The jackass would spend entire shifts on his fucking phone, playing angry birds or some shit, when he even bothered to show up at all. One day I got so sick of the orders piling up and customers complaining, I went into the kitchen to do it myself. I'll never win any awards, but I can follow a recipe well enough. Next shift, the manager asks me to step in again, says he'll make it worth my while. The rest is history."

"Ridiculous." Papyrus grumbled, mouth half covered by his hand "I'm trying so hard and you don't even want this job. What _did_ you want to do, then?"

"I'm off to college is September. This is just keeping me out of trouble until then."

"September..." something clicked in the skeletons head "That's why I'm taking your job in September."

"Yup." you confirmed "I won't be needing it."

Papyrus simply huffed again, and the two of you lapsed back into silence. On the streets at either end of the alley, the afternoon traffic could be heard, shushing serenely. The fire escape of a neighbouring business clanged open, a worker throwing a bag of rubbish outside before it slammed shut once more.

"What about you?" you asked "Why did you want this job? Besides 'picking up the gauntlet', I mean."

He examined you a moment more, weighing up his options before shrugging noncommittally.

"Needed something to do after my conscription was over." he confessed "This is just the latest thing I'm trying. I've always enjoyed cooking, and when you challenged me, it felt like fate, you know?"

Conscription? No wonder he took you barking orders at him so well. He was probably used to it.

"Didn't know monsters did conscription." you pondered.

"Fells do." Papyrus confessed "And Swapfells. A few others, but not that many. We're usually based on the border, swapping out with the National Guard every six months."

"You ever miss it?" 

"Occasionally. I miss the camaraderie, the sense of purpose. I woke up in the morning knowing what I had to do, how I had to do it, exactly how long it would take. I miss having that kind of structure."

"Then why not sign up for the 20 year stretch?" you asked "If you liked that kind of thing. Were you not good at it?"

"On the contrary," Papyrus said proudly, arrogant smirk on his face "I was incredibly good at it. Great, even."

He stopped smirking, looking off to the side and into his memories.

"I just... didn't like the person it was making me into..."

Papyrus suddenly jolted, shaking his head and face-palming.

"What the hell am I even telling you this?!" he yelled.

"I'm told I have that effect on people." you said simply.

You got up from the concrete step, wiping off the back of your trousers before picking up the now empty plate.

"I don't have much advice to give you as a chef, but here it is." you said to him, magnanimously ignoring his creeping blush from his previous verbal diarrhea "Working in a cafe kitchen isn't a job for someone who likes cooking, or a perfectionist. The best you can aim for is simple food, cooked well. Save anything fancy for home. What it is, however, is a pretty stable step to stoop on while you think of what you want to do with your life. People will always need food, and if they don't have to cook it themselves, mores the better."

Papyrus pulled a face, his twinkling eye lights dim as he pondered your words.

"Second, get yourself a proper set of chef's linens. They can be pricey, but not as pricey as replacing your wardrobe every month because a stain of god-knows-what just won't come out. Especially with taste like yours."

Papyrus looked down at his shirt. Sure enough, it was stained with... something. So were his trousers. Some kind of sauce covered one of his shoes.

"Also trainers." you finished "Something with non-slip soles."

The alarm on your phone went off, signalling the end of your break. The dinner rush wouldn't start for a while yet, but there was a lot of prep to do before then.

"C'mon, rookie." you told the skeleton as he started to get to his feet "If you can get through the dinner rush without throwing a frying pan at a waiter then I'll buy you an ice cream."  

Papyrus did not receive an ice cream that night. Nor the day after. By the end of the week, it was well known that anyone who wanted to go in the kitchen needed to be able to duck.

 

* * *

 

 

It was approaching 10pm when there was a quiet but persistent tapping on your bedroom window, scaring the dickens out of Anna, who was just wrapping up her homework for the night. Sugar smiled when he caught your attention, holding up two mugs of your favourite hot beverage, and you knew immediately he wanted to talk. Axe must have gone to the hospital today for his new treatment. Since your brother Miles wasn't going to be home tonight, Anna went to sleep in his room, leaving the two of you alone, but Suzy wasn't so fussy, falling asleep in your lap as you sat on the window ledge facing Sugars house, feet braced securely on the other side of the frame. The gap between the houses on either side of yours was mere inches, with Sugar and Axe on one side and a delightful older gentleman name William on the other - he kept dachshunds, and no you couldn't call him Bill, but thank you for asking.

"Sounds like quite the week!" Sugar laughed as you regaled him of your new colleagues exploits "You think he'll last?"

"Not if he can't control that temper." you admitted.

"Not exactly Gordon Ramsey, eh?"

"Not even Ramsey is like that in real life - it's all put on for tv! Can you imagine the problems his HR department would have if he really abused his staff so bad? They'd never stay!"

"Someone should tell that to Frank." Sugar grumbled, referring to the manager at the supermarket he worked in.

You knew from experience he was a jackass.

"A Fell, huh..." Sugar mused, taking a sip from his mug "What's his name?"

"Papyrus."

Sugar immediately perked up, nearly dropping his cup.

"Edge?!" he cried.

"Pardon?" you replied, completely dumbfounded.

"I... that is..." Sugar went orange in the face, calming himself down before continuing "You see, monster names tend to... repeat, quite frequently. Skeletons only have three names - Sans, Papyrus, and occasionally Gaster."

"Oh... kay?" you said incredulously "Why is that?"

"Some kind of horrible tradition, probably." Sugar said so quietly that you almost didn't hear him.

Sugar's face, being so big, displayed his emotions very clearly, making it very obvious that he was lying. You filed that information away for later.

"Every clan has a 'Sans' and a 'Papyrus.'" he went on after a moment "So it can get pretty confusing as to who you're talking about. That's why so many monsters have code names - nicknames? - so you know which Papyrus or Sans you're talking about. 'Papyrus of the Fell clan? Oh, that's Edge!'"

"'Edge'?"

"Short for 'Edgelord'." Sugar finished with a coy wink.

You snorted, trying not to jostle the sleeping toddler on your lap. That suited your new colleague perfectly.

"So," you said after you'd recovered "What's your Sunday name?"

"Papyrus." he answered with a shrug "My cousins used to call me 'Crooks', but... I didn't much care for it."

'Crooks'? As is 'crooked'? No, you wouldn't care for that either.

"I think 'Sugar' suits you much better." you told him.

He smiled sweetly at you. Yes, 'Sugar' is a vast improvement for this guy. Ice successfully broken by tales of your respective work weeks, the skeleton looked awkward as he approached what he actually wanted to talk about.

"There was a lot of yelling from your place earlier." he noted "Is everything okay?"

"My foster parents." you explained simply "And it was nothing new - mum was in court for 12 hours today, comes in the door three hours late and dad asks her what's for dinner."

Sugar shook his head, disapproving expression all over his face. Your foster father was significantly older than his wife - so much so that he had retired a few months ago, mostly due to a heart problem and bad back, but refused to do anything to help around the house. He never had dinner waiting for his wife when she got home from work, never picked up after Suzy, and would sulk like a petulant child if he ever did the dishes without receiving a standing ovation. Your foster father wasn't a bad man by any stretch - god knows you've known worse - but this was one of the things that really pissed you off about him.

"I think..."

You looked around, making sure all was quiet on the street before lowering your voice. Sugar, knowing he was about to hear something very private, leaned in.

"I don't think they'll last much longer." you confessed "They were only staying together for Anna's sake, since sorting out custody easily triples a divorce bill, but now she's sixteen... then when I came along, they had to stay together or I'd be put back into care and end up who knows where, but I'm legally an adult now. Then there's Suzy, but once they find a permanent place for her..."

Sugar shook his head again, this time in sympathy.

"I think they would be happier apart." he agreed "It's sad when these things happen, but it's probably for the best."

"Don't mention anything to Anna. You know how she is."

Sugar nodded in agreement, eyes falling to the sleeping child cuddled in your arms.

"Any news?" he asked.

"They never tell the foster families any more than they absolutely need to know." you told him with a sad shake of the head "All I know is that there's some serious legal stuff going on that's making it hard to place her."

"Is that what your mother was in court for today?"

"Nah - some place refused to serve a monster family, but it was a big chain store rather than some independent place. Mum's reporter friend did a little digging, and it turned out it was in the employee manual and everything to refuse monsters service."

"Disgusting!" Sugar gasped, looking genuinely offended.

"I know, right?!" you agreed "Anyway, mum's firm is trying to turn it into a class action lawsuit, get the law changed so people like that can be prosecuted."

"As well they should be."

An angry cat screamed at something in the front of the houses, making you both jump. Suzy whined groggily as she was disturbed, wiping her eyes with her little purple fists. The countdown to her either waking up or going back to sleep began.

"I should go." you apologized "Put this one down properly."

"Thanks for staying up with me." he said sincerely "I know you're tired... oh! I just remembered!"

He rapped his knuckles on his head a few times, producing a hollow 'tock' noise with each strike.

"As I was packing for Axe's hospital stay, I found... well, the entire streets post from at least the last week."

"Huh..." you had wondered why you hadn't gotten any post in a while.

"There was a few for your family. Unopened, of course! I... I don't even know why he was collecting them... neither did he..." Sugar looked forlorn a moment, eyes far away, before shaking off the sad thoughts "I'll have them all sorted by the morning. I'll bring them over then?"

"Whenever you're ready. You know Nana's always home."

With a final nod of goodnight, Sugar finally moved away from the window, his spine cracking from where he had been hunched over at the sill. You maneuvered as slyly as possible to stop the rousing toddler waking up any further, gently placing her in her crib before going to bed yourself

 

* * *

 

Suzy slipped her lead, and like all toddlers with a taste of freedom, immediately sprinted to the most dangerous place available - in this case, it was the top of the large freezers in the supermarket. How did she even get up there?! Your puny human limbs refused to jump or pull you up high enough to reach her, so while you waited for a giggling staff member to fetch a ladder, you had no choice but to stand by and apologise to the poor confused souls who approached the freezer only to be pterodactyl-screeched at by a purple tyrant in striped overalls.

"Suzy, come down right now!" your ordered again, wanting to feel like you're at least trying "You're being very naughty!"

She screeched again, proceeding to jump up and down on the freezer roof.

"Suzy! Stop that! It's dangerous!"

"Imma fly!" she declared, throwing her hands out to her sides.

"NO! No flying!" you almost begged her "Naughty girls that fly don't get to watch Paw Patrol!"

"IMMA FLY!!"

You immediately readied yourself to catch her. While Suzy was big and strong for a monster her age, she sure as hell didn't have wings, and jumping off that height would definitely result in a trip to the hospital and an incredibly upset Suzy. She was big, though... you mentally prepared yourself for the pain that catching her was going to bring you.

"THREE TWO ONE HERE I COME!!"

The child leapt off the freezer with the abandon only one with completely no concept of consequences could, and you reflexively closed your eyes and waited for the pain of her weight landing on you. When it didn't come, your entire soul bottomed out, the world going cold. Had you miscalculated her jump...?

A giggle restarted your heart, allowing you to breathe again as you opened your eyes. Suzy was laughing her little head off, flailing her limbs like she was swimming as she was suspended in the air five feet off the ground, surrounded by a soft blue glow. For a solid minute, words failed you.

"The fuck...?" you finally settled on.

Cou... _could_ she fly? After all... magic, y'know? A low chuckle behind you caught your attention, and you turned around to see Red stood in the aisle, one hand in his pocket and the other clutching a basket of random stuff.

"sorry to leave ya _hangin'_ around, sweetheart, but i thought ya could use a _lift_."

It was his magic? The only thought that came to your head was 'oh thank god!' The last thing you needed was a flying toddler. 

"Those puns were bad and you should feel bad." you said flatly "But thank you - that would have been traumatic."

Red smiled softly at you, a difficult thing to do with such sharp teeth.

"yeah, i've been wantin' to talk to ya." he confessed "i figure you and i got off on the wrong foot."

"You mean when you grabbed my baby sisters ass?"

You didn't wait for a reply, turning back to the still-floating Suzy. Since she had figured out the clasp of the toddler leach, you set about tying it to the harness with a knot so convoluted that nothing short of a tactical nuclear strike or big pair of scissors could undo it. The child squirmed and whined, trying to get away, but stayed firmly where she was.   

"... yeah." Red grimaced "that. look, i ain't gonna stand here and pretend i never did a thing wrong in my life, but i never would have gone grabbin' on her if i knew how old she was."

"And if she was older, would that have made 'grabbin' on her' okay?" you challenged.

Satisfied with the knot, you turned back to the skeleton. His brow bones were furrowed in displeasure as he looked down at you.

"like i said, i ain't gonna pretend i never did anythin' wrong." he grumbled, looking away a little "but in my defence, a lotta the dames that work there are pretty... _open_ about their availability."

"Yeah, years of street walking will do that."

"huh?!" Red gasped, genuinely surprised, but you simply shrugged.

"There's the reason the place is called the 'Second Chance'." you informed him "Everyone who works there is just trying to make good."

And then that look crossed his face - the look where he wandered why _you_ were working in such a place if that was true. He chewed on the thought a moment, and when he opened his mouth, you readied yourself to bite his head off.

"anyway, i just wanted to apologise." he said, showing far more tact than you had given him credit for "i already apologised to the kid."

"Is that why you slipped her a fifty in the tip the other day?"

"she told ya that, huh?"

"There was a bit of a moral dilemma when she wasn't sure she if she could accept it." you admitted "But considering she had to explain the greasy hand print on her skirt to a mother that doesn't want her working there in the first place, I'd say she earned it."

"y'know, ya make it really hard to apologise to ya." 

You couldn't help but smirk a little - he looked so incredulous. The protective older sibling in you would be happy to cut both his hands off, but the realist in you accepted that people make mistakes, and anyone can change their ways. He did stop Suzy breaking her legs...

"Alright," you sighed, laughing out of your nose "I accept your apology. However!"

Red's smirk, which started to spread across his face at your acceptance, immediately fell again.

"That's strike one." you finished.

Red snorted, letting out a low chuckle and rubbing his skull under his nose hole.

"okay, i'll take it." he said "fresh start?"

You dropped the attitude, smiling in a friendly manner and extending your hand and you told him your name.

"sans." he greeted as his shook it, his large hand covering half your forearm "but everybody calls me red."

Wait, his name actually was Red? You thought that was just something the staff called him... With nothing more than a glance over your shoulder, Red lowered Suzy to the ground, where she instantly began a silent protest by plopping down on your feet and crossing her arms to sulk.

"cute kid." he noted.

"She's only cute then she's asleep." you joked... well, half joked "I'd call her a handful, but... well, you saw her on top of the fridge."

Red laughed. His deep chortle rocked his whole body. You took the opportunity to wrap Suzy's lead tighter around yourself, and Red's eyes flashed to your left hand so quickly that you almost missed it when he looked away.

"so yer the chef there, huh? i gotta say, i'm a big fan." he told you, giving you a flirtatious smile.

"I should hope so, considering how much of it you eat." you pointed out.

"what can i say, i know what i like." 

Red's eyes roamed up and down your body. It looked like strike two was coming up.

"Seriously?" you asked flatly.

"what?" he asked, seemingly honestly confused.

"I've got nappies in one hand, a basket full of epsom salts and canned rice in the other, and a toddler determined to kill herself on the end of a leash." you pointed out, not even mentioning the more than sloppy way you're currently dressed "What the hell makes you think I'm interested in being hit on right now?"

Red looked honestly gobsmacked. Face completely still, his eyes darted about like he was looking for help.

"um... ain't this what they call a 'meet-cute'?" he asked.

"No, it's a meet-stupid."

His whole body jolted as he snorted, desperately covering his mouth to stop himself laughing. You gave him a moment to recover.

"Seriously, though?" you asked "A 'meet-cute'?"

"what, ya don't like romance films?" he asked.

"I hate them." you admitted "The women are spineless enough to take any abusive ass who looks at them, and the men are so stupid that they literally do highly illegal things to get a girls attention, yet somehow don't get arrested for it. And showing up to a girls work? Hanging around her house and making friends with her family so they'll root for you? That's not romantic, that's creepy. Red flag, no thanks, time to change the locks."

His broad shoulders shook as he continued to try and hold his laugh in.

"a critic, huh?" he said "sounds like ya have some strong opinions. how about we discuss this more on friday?"

"Friday?"

"at my place." he confirmed with a wink "i'll cook this time."

You tried not to, but... you laughed.

"Okay, that was smooth." you admitted "But no, thank you. I'm not looking for a relationship."

"how about a good time?" Red asked with another wink.

"I need toilet." Suzy suddenly announced.

Now when a toddler says that, they could either mean in five minutes or in five seconds, so you knew it was in your favour to immediately find the nearest bathroom.

"Nice try, Romeo, but this Juliet isn't on the market." you told Red as you picked Suzy up, balancing her between the large pack of nappies and shopping basket "Got a little too much _on my hands_ , y'know?" 

You turned around and left, ready to make a sprint to the bathroom, but just managed to catch the grin light up Red's face.

* * *

 

You were already exhausted. It was hardly 1pm, but after Suzy's short-lived career as a pterodactyl and dragging a big armful of shopping home, you had had quite enough. The child had had the nerve to fall asleep, leaving to you carrying her home, her warm body against yours making you even hotter. The sun beat down on you mercilessly, leaving you completely parched on top of everything else. As you approached home, you spotted your grandmother sat on a sun lounger in the front garden, sunglasses and straw hat on over her moo-moo and slippers.

"Getting some rays, Nana?" you asked.

"Oh, baby!" she cried excitedly when she saw you "You know that Meredith from down the road? The one who looks a bit like a constipated ferret?"

"I'm aware." you laughed.

"Well, she says some prowler's been going through peoples bins and and loitering in their gardens!"

"And you're here to catch him?" 

"No, I'm here to catch the gossip!"

You actually laughed at that, making your way to the front door and juggling the items in your arms to get it open.

"Make me some ice tea, baby?" Nana asked sweetly.

"Sure. Any flavour?"

"Just lemon is great. Thank you!"

Having left Suzy to doze in the relative coolness of the lounge, you put your purchases away and make the tea. Your grandmother immediately licked her lips and reached for the condensation-covered glass as you reappeared.

"That's look wonderful!" she whooped as she took a sip "Just perfect!"

"Any good gossip today?" you asked "Something we can stuff and put over the mantle?"

"Well actually-"

Nana was interrupted when the door to Sugar and Axe's house noisily crashed open, startling the both of you. Faster than humanly possible (because he was a monster), Sugar ran from his house and vaulted over the fence to yours, stopping in front of you with such suddenness that the velocity of it nearly made him fall over. You gave him a moment as he wheezed and clicked uncontrollably, bent over double from the exertion. You hoped he wasn't having a panic attack.

"Oh Sugar, what's wrong?" Nana asked.

"You okay, buddy?" you added.  

With great difficulty, the skeleton looked up at you. Rather than reply in words, he held out a letter for you to read, his hands shaking. Weirdly, it seemed to be in two parts.

 

~~_HEY FREAK_ ~~

 

~~_IT'S TIME YOU GOT YOUR FACE FIXED, YOU'RE MAKING US LOOK BAD._ ~~

 

~~_UNKIND REGARDS,_ ~~

 

~~_BLACK._ ~~

 

That entire part had been crossed out. You elected to ignore it for now, moving onto the second part.

 

_GREETINGS BELOVED COUSIN!_

 

_HOW 'S THE WEATHER UP THERE? THINGS ARE LOOKING PRETTY SUNNY DOWN HERE, MWE-HEH-HEH! DO YOU REMEMBER THE HOUSE FIRE?_

(Of course he remembered the house fire. Even you remembered it, and you hadn't even been friends at the time.)

_WELL THE INSURANCE FINALLY CAME THROUGH! THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT WE DON'T REALLY NEED IT - PAPY AND COMIC ALREADY WENT AND BOUGHT A NEW HOUSE! SO WE ALL GOT TOGETHER AND HAD A FAMILY MEETING ABOUT WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WITH IT. I'LL TELL YOU, I REALLY WANTED TO GO TO DISNEYLAND! BUT! CREAMPUFF WENT AND HAD THE BEST. IDEA. EVER!!!!!!!_

(Who was this excitable person and why was the letter in all caps? It was hand written!)

_WE DECIDED TO SPEND THE MONEY ON... YOU! WE KNOW YOU'VE BEEN SAVING TO GET YOUR EVERYTHING FIXED, AND WE WANT TO HELP! WE'VE DONE THE MATHS, AND WE HAVE ENOUGH FOR YOU TO SEE A DENTIST AND A RHINOPLASTY DOCTOR, OR A DENTIST AND AN OPTICIAN, OR A DENTIST AND ANOTHER DENTIST! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!_

_WE WROTE YOU A LETTER SO YOU WOULD KNOW WE WERE SERIOUS! WE'VE ALREADY BEEN TALKING TO SOME DENTISTS HERE, SO PLEASE COME AND SEE US!_

_PS - DON'T TELL AXE, HE'LL ONLY GET MAD._

_LOVE AND KISSES!_

_YOUR MAGNIFICENT COUSIN!_

_BB!!!!!_

 

There were several other names scrawled on the bottom of the letter in different handwriting (THE GREAT  ~~PAPYRUS~~ CREAMPUFF, comic, stretch, BLACK (again), rus... how many cousins did Sugar have?), but one thing kept coming back to you.

"Why don't they want you to tell your brother?" you asked.

"They..." Sugar wheezed, whole ribcage shaking "They... *wheeze* they don't get along. Axe likes to antagonise them *wheeze* They don't want him going."

"They're offering to fix your face, your brother would never stand in the way of that." you knew.

"Of course not, but the arguments..." he agreed "It'd be hell if I took him."

"Isn't Axe in the chokey anyway?" Nana asked, taking her own look at the letter.

"It's 'pokey', Nana, and no, he's in the hospital."

"I have some holiday I have to take before it expires." Sugar admitted, wringing his large hands awkwardly "And with Axe in the hospital I don't have to worry about leaving him, so..."

Sugar looked at you pleadingly, and you realised he was waiting for permission to go. He needed someone to tell him it was okay, but his usual enabler wasn't here. Well, you weren't going to tell him he couldn't have the thing he's been saving for for as long as you've known him.

"Want me to watch your house while you're gone?" you asked.

Sugar's smile almost broke what was left of his face.

"No, it's okay." he said "But if the hospital calls about Axe..."

"I'll take care of it." you promised.

"So..."

"So..." Nana parroted.

"So..." you finished "Can we get excited now?"

Sugar started shaking again, this time for a completely different reason, nearly exploding as he leapt into the air.

"OH MY GOD!" He yelled.

"OH MY GOD!" you agreed, joining him in jumping up and down.

"Oh my word." Nana chuckled, sitting back in her lawn chair as she watched the two of you freak out.


	3. A Change in Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now for something completely different...

You.

You really were the entire package, weren't you? That body, that face, that voice. You were his every idea of what perfection should be. The very first second he laid his red eyes on you, he knew... he knew you were going to be his. The more he watched you, the more he knew. Every day he fell deeper and deeper in love with you.

But actually getting to talk to you? He hadn't expected what that would do to him. Having you look him in the eye and challenge him... it made his spine shiver. _You looked him in the eye._ Those beautiful eyes, locked on him and no-one else. He wanted to keep it that way forever.

Not that you were making it easy. You could be cold with people you didn't know well, but that was okay. You weren't some silly kid waiting for prince charming to come riding in on a dragon to sweep them off their feet, all frills and curls, no, you were the salt of the earth, cold as ice, a force of nature! He would make you melt beneath him. Just a matter of time.

He had to know more about you first, like why you kept a switchblade in a hidden pocket in your bag, or who that older man was in the picture in your wallet (it wasn't your brother and father, who he knew you lived with, but you looked about 12 in the picture, so who...?) 

The kid had thrown him at first, but seeing you with them, playing at the park, taking a walk down the road, chasing them around the garden with a hose... it was a treat he hadn't expected. When you were with that kid, you were so kind, so patient, so calm... no ice, no walls, just you as you were always meant to be. It was like seeing your soul laid bare, and by all the stars in the sky, he wanted to see you like that again. He didn't picture having children before, but if it meant you'd have that happy look on your face more often, then he'd have a whole army of them, just for you.

Just for you.

You.

He had to take a deep breath, just thinking about you. So strong, so responsible, and beneath it all so warm and kind... He'd take good care of you. You'd want for nothing. He took great care of things that were his.

And you were his.

You just didn't know it yet. 


	4. The Beach goes on for Miles

Everything had to close at some point, and for the Second Chance, that point was Monday - what the cafe took on a Monday wouldn't even cover the staff pay, so the manager and owner just decided to keep it shut. You didn't mind - you found the world too busy on the weekends anyway. The downside was that you rarely got to spend any days out with Anna, but next week she had some kind of teacher training day (on a Monday? A bit weird but okay), and there was only one thing she wanted to do. Unfortunately, that thing meant a great big headache for you. It wasn't her fault, so you thought about the best ways to get around the issue. Your brain kept coming back to one particular option over and over again, and until you had eliminated the possibility, you just couldn't forget it.

  
You entered the kitchen to find Edge already there, sharpening the knives. As per your advice, he had got himself some proper chefs linens, but unlike your baggy, gaudily patterned monstrosities, his were crisp and simple and almost looked tailored. You had noticed some unique embroidery here and there, and the buttons were black pearl... had he made the clothes himself? He was certainly precise enough, but he sure didn't have the patience for embroidery.

  
"Something on my face?" he barked when he saw you staring, red eyes glowering.

  
"No, and it's very distracting." you joked "How do you smell anything without a nose?"

"The same way you reach high shelves." he retorted with a smirk.

"Oh, a short joke? That's cold, man, after everything I've taught you-"

"Yes, yes, save me the theatrics. Why were you staring at me, human?"

"I need a favour." you admitted, trying to look cute.

Edge looked exactly as suspicious as you would be upon hearing those words. You leant against the counter as you prepared to explain.

"Y'see, Anna wants to go to the beach this Monday." you began "Since she's not at school, and it won't be as busy as the weekend."

"Okay...?"

"The problem is... how do I put this delicately?"

You don't.

"The world is full of fuckboys who don't know how to keep their damn hands to themselves." you explain "Despite how she looks, Anna is only sixteen, she's got no clue to how handle guys that won't take no for an answer. Now, monsters we can handle with a stripey swimsuit, but humans? They don't really pick up on those subtle social cues as well. Or worse - they do, and they're into that kind of thing."

Edge continued to stare at you, trying to anticipate what part he had to play in this drama of yours.

"Now, I'm more than capable of stabbing some hands." you confessed "But like they say - the greatest victory is the battle not fought. Your typical fuckboy won't approach a girl if she's got a big dude with her, especially if he's nasty looking. And so I thought - who's the biggest, nastiest looking dude I know who's not actually a physical threat? Oh yeah, Edgy-boy! Come to the beach with us?"

"Don't you have any other friends you can ask?" Edge grumbled.

"After you, the next biggest guy I know is Mohammed, but he has his placement on Mondays."

Edge thought about it a moment, inspecting the end of the knife to see if it was sharp enough.

"What's in it for me?" he asked, smirking once again.

"What?!" you feigned offence, striking a pose "Spending a day on the beach with my gorgeous self isn't enough for you?"

"No."

You couldn't help but laugh at the complete deadpan way he said that.

"Okay, fair." you chuckled "How about this - you do this for me, and you get to ask me for a no-questions-asked favour sometime in the future."

Edges head whipped back to face you so fast you could swear you heard his bones pop.

"Seriously?" he clarified "Anything?"

"Well... within reason. Nothing illegal."

"Hmmm," Edge contemplated happily, looking up at the ceiling.

Finally, he came to a decision.

"Alright, I'll do it." he agreed "On one condition!"

"What's that?"

"We take my car!"

You weren't planning on doing any different.

* * *

 

Edge arrived punctually at 9.30 in the morning, the exact time to the second that he said he would, in the sleek black convertible he had spent the last couple of weeks bending your ear about. Anna grabbed up the bag of beach supplies and food cooler while you hefted the car seat in one hand and Suzy in the other. You kept a laugh in when you saw he had taped a stylish pair of sunglasses to his skull, but the smile died on your lips somewhat when you saw Red sat in the front passenger seat next to him. Even Anna slowed down and loitered behind you as you approached the car.

"You didn't tell me you were bringing your brother." you pointed out, trying to keep your voice neutral.

"You didn't tell me you were bringing the baby." Edge countered, eyeing the very uncool car seat.

"My mother was supposed to have her today," you confessed "But something at her work caught fire - and I mean that literally - so she had to go in."

"We're going to the beach!" Suzy yelled "Imma make a sandcastle!"

"don't worry about it, bro, we can handle a little kid for a day." Red assured, interrupting Edges next rant before turning to a still unsure Anna "how's it goin', _kid_." 

" _Mister_." Anna greeted in the same tone.

"i understand we're here to keep the creeps away so you can have fun in the sun."

"That's correct, yes." she confirmed, blushing and looking at her feet - she actually looked her age when she did that, you thought.

"fine by me." Red smiled "a day at the beach, and i get to threaten people? sounds like a good time to me."

Red winked at you before putting on his own pair of sunglasses.

Edge opened the boot for your bags while you strapped the car seat in securely. When everyone was safely buckled in, the hour and a half journey to the beach began. There was some debate over what type of music you should all listen to, as it seemed like everyone had different tastes, but in the end you settled for some unoffensive pop songs, since they were the most suitable for Suzy. At first, she was the only one happy with this, singing along loudly to the words that she only half knew as you all stared dispassionately at the passing scenery. To your surprise, it was Red that started singing next, his low gravelly tone giving him the perfect voice for rock. Anna started singing soon after, the three different voices creating quite the cacophony. And yes, you started singing too, getting into the spirit of it as you saw Suzy's little face light up. Edge, ever the stoic, simply rolled his eyes and focused on the road.

The day was plenty warm enough for a beach visit, but not so hot that you'd be better off not going outside. It had settled in properly by the time you arrived, the breeze coming off the ocean just cool enough to take the edge off. As predicted, it was much quieter than it would have been over the weekend, but there was still a few people around. You had found a nice spot not too close to the water, setting up your umbrellas and beach towels when Anna laid a hand on your shoulder.

"I'll take care of Suzy today." she promised "Since you've done so much to make today happen. Just relax, okay?"

Without further ado, she took Suzy off to the nearby changing rooms. Edge stripped off right there on the sand, revealing that he was wearing a black speedo under his leather trousers (because of course he was), while Red merely took off his coat and put it to one side with his trainers, lounging around in his shorts and vest.

"no suit, sweetheart?" he asked you.

"Not my thing." you said simply, removing nothing more than your shoes and picking a book out of your bag "And don't call me 'sweetheart'."

"got something you prefer? 'doll'? 'darlin'? 'cupcake'?"

You leveled him with a dry look, to which he grinned.

"cupcake it is."

"Sans!" Edge barked, stretching out his bones as if he's about to start exercising "Make yourself useful and go get us some drinks!"

"sure, boss." he agreed, fishing his wallet out of his jacket, but making no move to put it, or his shoes, back on "you want a beer, cupcake?"

"It's not even noon." you pointed out "And I don't drink."

"it's your day off, one won't kill ya." he urged.

"I don't drink." you repeated more sternly, just cold enough that he didn't ask you again before sauntering off to the closest shop.

Anna returned shortly after, dressed in her frilly striped bikini, Suzy in her one-piece and sunhat, and left their clothes with you as they went to play in the surf. Suzy was a little nervous at first, but with Anna holding her hand she soon found her courage, jumping and dancing in the low waves. You attention was drawn to Edge as he sat beside you, his eyes also on the girls.

"I'm surprised," he admitted "You told Anna the truth about why you invited me."

"She's a kid, not an idiot." you told him "She knows perfectly well that she attracts douche-bags that she doesn't know how to deal with. She trusts me and my judgement, so if I say you're a guy she can trust, she's okay with you."

Edge cocked a brow in your direction, looking at you skeptically.

"You think you can trust me?" he asked.

"Me? Hell no." you admitted in a far more friendly manner than that answer should have "But having spent the last few weeks stuck in a kitchen with you, I think I can safely say I can trust you with Anna."

He opened his mouth to argue, then seemed to think better of it. He humphed as he looked away, cheeks going a little red. When you were about to go back to your book, something wet and freezing cold pressed to the back of your neck, making you shriek and flinch away, swiping wildly behind you. Your arm didn't meet anything, but you heard Red cackle.

"i give you chills, cupcake?" he asked.

"Go to hell!" you barked, which only made him laugh again as he passed his brother the bag full of drinks.

Edge immediately left to give some to the girls, Red plopping back down on the sand on your other side and passing you the can he had pressed to your neck - ice cold tea.

"ya didn't seem like a soft drink type." he told you.

He was right, but it was a little weird how he managed to pick your favourite flavour. Still, it was canned, so you cracked it open and took a sip, eyes going back to the girls. Anna had a coke, and Suzy a juice box, which Edge was currently putting the straw in. He didn't seem like the type that would be good with kids, so it was a pleasant surprise to you that he hadn't lost his temper with her yet. Feeling the midday sun on your skin, you pulled the sun cream out of your bag, and were just about to call the girls over when a thought occurred to you.

"Okay, serious question." you said to Red, who was just about to put his bottle of beer to his mouth "Will she burn?"

You pointed to Suzy.

"She doesn't have scales, per say, but her skin is very tough. She's still just a kid, though, so better safe than sorry? The bottle says it's monster safe, but not all monsters need it, right?"

"hmm..." 

Red looked at Suzy, who had already finished her drink and was now splashing water on Edge, cocking his head to the side as he thought.

"she warm or cold blooded?" he asked.

"Warm."

"then i'd definitely put cream on her. better safe than sorry."

Good enough for you. Once the girls were safely protected from the suns harmful UV rays (Anna complaining the entire time that she didn't need it, god, you're so embarrassing, stop acting like mum already!), they left to go and build a sandcastle.

"whatcha readin'?" Red asked.

You showed him the cover of your book. It was one of the textbooks for your upcoming college course, which you had already read twice, but you were determined to know the material by rote before you started. Red whistled in an impressed manner.

"that's a high-brow tome." he complimented "whatcha studyin'?"

You told him your subject area, expecting the usual confused look or judgemental questioning, but he once again exceeded your expectations.

"sounds cool." he said "yer off in september, right? lookin' forward to it?"

"Yeah, of course." you confessed "It's something I'm pretty proud of, y'know? It's a really positive step in my life, and I did it all by myself." you laughed a little "The fact that it's a massive 'fuck you' to everyone who ever thought I'd fail doesn't hurt either."

"seriously?" Red laughed.

"Seriously. The guidance counsellor said I wouldn't even graduate - the very first time we met, I add - so I graduated early just to spite him."

Red let out a hearty chuckle, slapping his knee.

"i love it!" he declared, taking another swig "lemme see that book? i'll quiz ya."

You handed him the weighty tome, not actually expecting to be quizzed, but since he was being civil you thought you should return the gesture. Red flicked through the pages for a while, eyes jumping up and down as he read a few, before he turned to the back cover, going very still for a second.

"uh... cupcake?" he said "this price on here... is this correct?"

"Yup."

"no way... is this a required book for your course?"

"Correct again."

"mother fuckers..." Red gasped "how did ya afford this?"

"There's a story behind that." you confessed, taking another sip of tea "I found it."

"ya... found it?" he repeated, raising a brow bone at you.

"It was shortly after I got my books list." you elaborated "They're all pretty pricey as far as books go, but _that_ one... it's got a single use code in it too, so I couldn't even get last years edition second-hand."

"sounds like a rip-off."

"Oh, it is. 100%. So I'm walking home after work one day, wondering how much overtime I'm going to have to do to afford this book, when I spot a book on the ground, still wrapped up in cellophane, right in the middle of the pavement. I'm curious, so I take a look, and would you believe it's the exact book I need, brand-spanking-new?"

"no way."

"I'm not one to profit off some poor souls bad luck, so I report my find to the police." you explained "But they couldn't give a rats ass, despite it being worth almost a grand."

"just because it costs a grand don't mean it's worth that much." Red disagreed.

" _Anyway_ ," you went on "I wait the thirty days and no-one comes forward to claim it, so it's mine now, fair and square. I feel sorry for whoever left it, though."

"yeah..." Red gave you back the book, holding it as reverently as a newborn now he'd seen the price sticker.

"What about you?" you asked as you put it back in your bag "What do you do for a living that let's you order our entire menu a few times a week?"

"i'm a tailor." Red answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What, really?" you asked incredulously "I really would not have picked that for you..."

"our dear dead ma used to say there were three things folk's would always need." he told you "food, funerals, and clothes. you get in one, get good at it, and you can make some good money. i'd rather eat the food than make it, and the perma-grin ain't exactly appropriate for an undertaker, so that left one option. monsters come in so many shapes and sizes, 'off the rack' clothin' ain't exactly a thing. i make a pretty good living, plus i get to work from home most days."

"I... still can't picture it." you admitted, looking pointedly at his own attire.

"i know what i like." he told you, winking as he did "and i'm comfortable. win-win."

Noticing Edge returning to the spot you had staked out, you looked to him for clarification.

"Your brother tells me he's a tailor." you said, to which the taller skeleton grimaced.

"Annoying, isn't it?" he confirmed "He dresses so slovenly, and yet he's actually very talented at his craft! Ugh, he's so messy that he-"

"Wait, did you make Edge's chef linens?" you asked Red, earning a strangled cry from the cut-off Edge.

"sure did. gotta put my best work in for my baby bro."

Edge scowled at Red as he was called that, to which Red only smiled at him.

The friendly conversation between you continued into the afternoon, breaking only for lunch, and you ended up discussing all sorts of things - your favourite movies (Red picked  _Shaun of the Dead_ , while Edge went for _Mad Max Fury Road_. You claimed yours was John Carpenters _The Thing_ ); favourite foods (hotdogs, lasagne and (you said) steak); dream holiday destinations (Vegas, Venice, Hawaii); and jobs you'd had in the past (Red was a sentry, Edge tried his hand at arena security, and you... well, you had quite the list). It's surface-level friendliness, but you can't help but analyse their responses. As the afternoon rolled on to early evening, you decided it was time to pack it up for the day, so Edge collected all the stuff to start packing the car. As he left, Red turned to you.

"y'know, yer pretty dishonest." he said.

"Excuse me?" you challenged.

"ya lied about every single thing we talked about." he pointed out "why? what possible harm could it do to tell someone what your favourite videogame is?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, Red walked over to the rather impressive sandcastle Suzy and Anna had made and started digging around in the sand with the child. That was a power-play, designed to make you feel guilty. Well... it worked, but you were tougher than that. Your safety was always more important than some mans hurt feelings.

"We packing it up?" Anna asked you, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"Yeah." you confirm.

"'Kay, I need the bathroom first. B.R.B."

As she left, a group a little way up the beach caught your attention - six young men, 18-25 years old, all with open beer cans, all wearing sunglasses, none of whom knew how to button their shirts all the way up. They had a boombox playing obnoxious pop-rap and two were hauling a keg of what you could safely assume was beer between them. Exactly the kind of douche-bags you were worried about when you invited Edge along. Except Edge was packing up the car, not here playing guard dog. You took a deep breath - maybe they just looked like douche-bags, and would just move on. Stranger things had happened, right? 

Perhaps, but not today. Spotting Anna walking back along the sand, the group immediately started hollering and wolf-whistling, startling the poor girl, who immediately froze like a deer in the headlights. Nothing said 'easy kill' like that expression, and with no Edge to scare them off, you went up the beach to get Anna yourself. The douche-bag collective was closer, though, and had already accosted her by the time you reached them.

"Hey, little honey, wanna come party with us?" alpha douche-bag asked, making it very obvious he's checking her out as he looked over his sunglasses.

"N-n-no, thank you." Anna replied in a very small voice, trying to cover herself with her arms.

"C'mon, you'll have fun, baby." he went on "The boys and I will show you a good time."

"I-I-I....uh..."

You stepped in front of Anna, who gratefully ducked behind you, using your body as a shield.

"She's sixteen." you explained coolly to the alpha douche-bag, looking him right in the eye "You need to move on."

"Who the fuck asked you?" he snarled "Mind your own business!"

"My sister is my business."

He looked between the two of you several times - it wasn't simply a matter of one of you being blonde and the other a brunette: you and Anna are completely different races. He clearly decided you were lying, sneering down at you.

"Like hell you are." he challenged, reaching behind you and grabbing Anna by the arm "You're just a-"

The blow to his solar plexus came out of the blue, causing him to let go of Anna and stumble back into his 'boys', promptly falling to his knees and throwing up.

"Holy shit!"

"Mike, dude, you okay?!"

The entire group looked at you, your hand still in the air from your blow. 

You had crunched the numbers - sure, there were six guys in their prime, but they had been drinking, and had the kind of lean, stringy muscles that would snap if used too suddenly. You could beat them, but you'd hurt like hell tomorrow.

"Like I said, gentlemen." you said slowly "You need to move on."

Beta douche-bag bared his teeth to say something, but Gamma douche-bag grabbed his arm and shook his head, signalling behind you. You were so focused on the assholes in front of you, you hadn't noticed that Red was now stood just by your shoulder, red eyes locked on the congregation. He wasn't as threatening to look at as Edge was, but he would do. As you predicted, the boys backed down, muttering 'whatever' as they walked carefully around the stocky skeleton, half carrying the alpha douche. You watched them go, not turning your back to them until you saw all of theirs. You turned to Red to thank him for stepping in, but as you opened your mouth, you were suddenly drenched in beer.

Alpha and Beta douche-bag had grabbed the keg from their friends and poured the entire thing over your head. Words failed you. Good god, the smell! You saw flashing lights as your anger tipped over - it was over! Why didn't they just leave?! They wanted to fucking fight?! FINE BY YOU!

With a primal scream, you tore off your ruined hoodie and shirt, throwing them to the side as you rounded on the ill-prepared young men. You tackled alpha to the ground, punching him repeatedly in the face and taking no small satisfaction feeling the _crunch_ of his nose breaking beneath your hand. Beta tried to lift you off his friend, so you grabbed him around the neck, firms grip on his ears, and twisted, forcing him to the ground as well. You were sure Anna was screaming something, but you'd be damned if you knew what it was. Beta began to desperately writhe and kick as your grip around his neck tightened...

Large, hard hands gripped your arms and pried them away. The next thing you knew, you were lifted off the ground, shouting and swearing the entire time as you were carried off, pressed firmly against a large, square rib cage. You were suddenly assailed by a shower of lukewarm water, feet planted on the solid ground, hands taken firmly and kept pressed against a rough concrete wall by ones much larger than your own. Someone was saying something, but you didn't care, writhing and fighting every step.

Between the soothing warmth of the water and the gentle lull of the voice behind you, you started to calm down.

Where are you? One of those out-door showers that lined the beach for people to wash the salt water off.

Who was behind you, holding you down? It was Red, those were his hands.

What was he saying?

"... yer okay, yer okay, yer safe, everything's okay..."

The threat? You looked around, spotting Edge, a terrified Suzy in his arms, glaring daggers at the pile of boys on the sand, desperately trying to pull each other up and run away. Anna stood beside him, clutching your beer-soaked clothes. The threat was over. You started to feel dizzy - the adrenaline must have been ebbing. You focused on your breathing, closing you eyes and allowing yourself to calm down. Feeling your body relax, Red tentatively let you go, but didn't back up very far.

You took as much time as you need to calm yourself, knowing you could be set off again by the smallest thing. When you were ready, you turned the shower off, pushing your hair back and wringing the extra moisture from it.

You turned to Red, ready to bite his head off for the first stupid thing that came out of his mouth, and you could see him picking his words carefully.

"better?" he settled on.

"The fuck do you think?" you spat.

"i think i know trauma when i see it." he replied calmly "you wanna talk about it?"

"Sorry," you replied sardonically "But you need to be a level ten friend to unlock my tragic backstory."

You stormed off to grab a towel, electing to ignore the way he looked at you.

"...fell."

Only just catching that he said something, you spun back around.

"Excuse me?" you challenged.

"those scars make ya look like a fell." he repeated.

"Fuck you." you retorted, spinning back to your original course.

You were stopped when something heavy and warm fell over your shoulders - Red's big black coat - before he hugged you from behind.

"you're too cute to pull off swearing." he said quietly, right beside your ear "nice bikini."

You felt your face heat up. Before you could properly respond, Red released you, leading you back to the car.

* * *

It was late when you got home. You managed to calm Suzy down by letting her sit in your lap most of the drive, where she soon fell asleep. There was no singing this time. You told Edge you'd see him at work tomorrow, pointedly ignoring Red, as you clambered out and grabbed your things from the boot. Anna took Suzy straight up to bed while you took your beer-drenched clothes into the kitchen, hoping they could be salvaged if you washed them quickly enough. As you flicked the light on, there was a startled grunt at the kitchen table. Your brother Miles was sat there, clearly having been asleep, and blinked blearily at you before panicking and reaching for his sidearm. He relaxed when he realised it wasn't there - he didn't bring it home after... after your last episode. Smelling the air, Miles pulled a face.

"Tell me you haven't been drinking." he said.

"I haven't." you assured "Some assholes just decided to try a reverse keg-stand on my head when I stopped them harassing Anna."

Miles grumbled unhappily, rubbing his eyes. There was not a single thing to be happy about in that sentence.

"Are they okay?" he asked.

"Anna's fine."

"Of course Anna is fine." he knew "I'm asking about the guys who dumped beer on you."

He looked you right in the eye. Miles was the pride of the family, a police officer in a unit so clandestine that he couldn't tell anyone what he did without putting them in grave danger. He was an upstanding man who had arrested you more than once before his family took you in.

"I took a guy from work with me." you explained "He bought his brother."

"I'm glad you thought ahead." Miles complimented "But that's not what I asked."

"A broken nose." you assured "And an interesting story to tell their shrink. Nothing more."

"What about you? Are you okay?"

You didn't answer right away, instead going over to the washing machine and dumping your clothes in. This was all the answer Miles needed, as he got up from the chair and pulled you into a hug as you closed the machine.

"I thought I was getting better." you admitted quietly, hugging him back.

"You are," he assured "Eighteen months ago you wouldn't even have gone to the beach. Twelve months ago, you would have stabbed those guys. You _are_ getting better."   

You stood there for a while, letting yourself be held in the gloom of the kitchen. It was so nice to be able to trust, and you let yourself wallow in it when you could.

"If you..." Miles said after a while "If you ever heard from anyone... from before... you'd tell me, right?"

"Of course I would." you confirmed "I'm not putting the future I've worked hard for in jeopardy."

Miles kissed you on the forehead before releasing you, ushering you out of the kitchen.

"Go to bed," he urged "You look exhausted. I'll finish up your washing."

You thanked him, taking his advice. Anna, similarly exhausted, was already asleep. You unpacked your beach bag first, noticing your phone had a notification - it wa Sugar, telling you how much his face hurts and asking how you are. You told him, and to your surprise got a reply almost immediately. You messaged back and forth for a while before finally falling asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's difficult to know how much to characterise the Reader - on the one hand, you know where you want to take them and what they need to do to get there, but if you characterise them too much then they become an OC rather than someone you can project on, but if you go too far in the other direction you end up with either a wet rag like Bella Swan or someone whose actions are too difficult to relate to or understand...  
> Let me know what you guys think!  
> And thanks for your lovely comments so far!


	5. A Bad Day

Axes memory might not be what it was, but his deductive reasoning was completely sound, so a game like chess, with its set rules and limited outcomes, was well within his ability to play, and easy to pick back up whenever he got distracted. He sat before you with his head propped up on his hand, elbow resting on the two journals he always kept with him: one was a diary, titled simply 'things that happened (vol.xx)', in which he wrote everything of importance that happened any given day, and the other was 'people i know', of which there was only one volume. Each person in the second book was assigned a colour, and whenever they were mentioned in the first book, Axe would place a coloured page marker there, allowing him to cross reference the books easily. Sugar had told you that Axe would spend hours pouring over his old diaries, upsetting himself with the things he couldn't remember.

Your colour was lilac. Your section in the 'people i know' book started with your full name and date of birth, a polaroid of you which you had patiently posed for when he asked, and any information about you that he deemed worthy of writing down. Everyone in your family had a page, your parents and brothers simply saying 'neighbour', along with their names and photographs while - thanks to your friendship with his brother - yours spanned several. 

You made your move, taking one of his pawns. He laughed humorlessly, thinking about his turn.

"i don't know how your sis keeps attracting these assholes." he said of your recount of the beach incident "i mean, she's only..." he checked her page in his book "sixteen?"

"Yup." you confirmed "Kinda makes we worry about what kind of men she'll date in the future."

"might not be men, you never know."

"I dunno, man, I've met some predatory lesbians."

Axe chuckled, taking your bishop.

"Yeah, me too."

The other patients of the clinic ambled around you in the games room, some in the company of visitors, others reading on their own or playing cards with other patients. Axe seemed bright eyed and alert - his new treatment must be agreeing with him.

"hey." he said suddenly.

"Hm?"

You looked up from the chessboard. Axe's eyelight was trained on you thoughtfully, face troubled.

"is everything okay at home?" he asked.

"Yeah? It's fine. Why do you ask?"

"i'm not sure..." he confessed, scratching his skull "i've got little alarm bells going off in my head. I feel like there's something important i had to tell you, but... every time I remember it, it's gone." 

He started flicking through his 'stuff that happened' book, still looking troubled.

"I'm sure you'll remember it eventually." you assured him "You've still got your phone, right? Just call me when you think of it."

"yeah... yeah..." he agreed, quickly grabbing his pen and making a note of it "this is really buggin' me, what the hell was it?!"

A nurse called the end of visiting hours, distracting Axe completely from his task.

"hey, take a picture of the board." he requested "i wanna pick this up next time..." 

He looked up at you unsurely, red eye almost pleading.

"when is next time?"

You knew that wasn't what he was really asking, the unspoken plea of 'you will come back, right?' hanging in the air. You took a picture of the chessboard on your phone.

"Friday morning, man, you know that." you assured "Call me if you need anything."

Despite his grisly visage, Axe's bright smile could still light up a room. He went to write a note in his journal on next Fridays date, only to find it was already there. He laughed awkwardly.

"see ya next time, buddy."

* * *

 

You finally got the big black coat back from the dry cleaners - even though it hadn't been drenched in beer with your clothes, the stench had still clung to it after wearing it for the rest if the day. You thought the least you could do was get it cleaned before returning it. You dropped back home to pick up a few things before heading out again, having a rare day off with no babysitting to catch up on your errands. Suzy was sat in Nana's lap, dummy in her mouth, eyes drooping as the nonagenarian read to her in a soothing tone.

As you walked into the kitchen, you found your foster mother sat at the kitchen table, using her rescheduled day off to pour over some court paperwork.

"That's not what days off are for." you reminded her.

"Don't you start." she grumbled good-naturedly, taking a sip of her tea "How's Axe doing?"

"He's doing pretty well." you confirmed as you rooted around in the fridge "Misses his brother, but that's to be expected."

"Hmm." she hummed distractedly "Hey... sweetie?"  

"Yeah?"

"Have you..." she sighed, shaking her head "Never mind, forget I said anything."

"No, go on." you urged as you emerged from the fridge "What's on your mind?"

Your foster mother seemed to be having an internal debate, tapping her nails on the cup in her hands.

"Don't overreact." she started, immediately raising your suspicion "But you know those letters we got from Sugar?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, some of them weren't addressed to anyone, so your father opened them." she went on "And they were... I hesitate to call them 'love letters'... they were actually kind of disturbing. There was no postage on them either... have you seen anyone hanging around?"

"I haven't." you confirmed, suitably disturbed.

"Has Anna said anything?" 

"No. Where are the letters now?"

"We gave them to Miles." your mother confirmed "He passed them on to an officer he works with who deals with these kind of things."

"Why didn't you let me see them?" you asked coolly.

"Because I know you." she said simply "Last time some boy harassed Anna, you found out where he lived and beat his head with a shovel."

"I remember."

"We all do. Just the let the police handle it, please? All I want you to do is keep your eyes peeled. Ask Anna if someone's approached her? She talks to you about stuff, you know?"

"Alright." you agreed, already pulling out your phone to text Sugar and get more details on the letters "I'll keep an eye out."

"And don't walk home alone. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Alright." your mother sighed, stress and fatigue clear in her eyes "Have fun tonight. Call me if you need a ride home."

* * *

 

Even though it was your day off, you didn't want to put his off any longer, popping into work on your way to the Warehouse. It was pretty dead, despite being close to the middle of the lunch rush, most of the staff stood around the bar talking. Upon seeing you, a monster known to the staff as 'Big Mouth' (because of the obvious massive mouth that made up the majority of their head), waved you down.

"Hey!" they greeted "You working today after all?"

"Just dropping something off." you said "Don't get excited."

"Aw, man..."

You went into the kitchen, finding Edge leaning against the counter on his phone.

"Oh no, not you too!" you gasped theatrically.

"I'm looking up recipes." he assured "Since it's dead today. What are you doing here?"

You handed him the bag containing his brothers coat, to which he let out an 'oh' of understanding.

"By Asgore's beard, I don't think it's ever been this clean!" he gasped, making you laugh "While we're at it, though... Wait here a second."

He disappeared into the locker room a moment, returning with a nondescript paper bag of his own.

"Before you say anything - I don't know what it is." he told you "Sans made it. Let me now how hard I should hit him."

You took the bag tentatively. Red's not given you any concrete reason to be wary, but he's also kind of a perv who's made his interest in you known... you opened it carefully, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. You're immediately relieved when there's no lace. Removing the neatly folded fabric, taking a moment to notice it's your favourite colour, you unfolded it to reveal a hoodie. It wasn't a bog-standard, off the rack plain jacket, though, but a flattering cut made from high quality natural fibre, adorned with hand-stitched embroidery in a floral pattern on the pocket, hood and cuffs, with a soft cotton lining that complimented the colour of the outer fabric.

It was gorgeous! It was soft. It was... completely inappropriate!

"Can I get your brothers number?" you asked "I need to... talk to him about this."

Edge shrugged, clearly not caring less, and handed you his phone. You copied the number over to yours before giving it back.

"See you tomorrow, Edge-boy." you bid as you left.

"Break a leg, human."

You don't bid goodbye to anyone as you stormed out, waiting until you're in the parking lot before pulling your phone out of your pocket and dialling. It took a while for Red to answer.

"what are ya sellin'?" he grumbled as he answered, probably assuming that the unknown number was a telemarketer.

"It's me." you answer brusquely.

"oh, cupcake!" he replied, tone changing completely "how's it goin'?"

"Your brother gave me your gift."

"yeah? ya like it?" he asked flirtatiously.

"Red, this is completely inappropriate." you stated.

"huh? how so?"

"If you had just bought me something, that would have been weird enough." you elaborate "But instead you _made_ this. How much did this fabric cost you? How long did you spend on the embroidery? And for that matter, how did you know my size?"

"i'm a professional, cupcake, it's my job to know people's sizes." he retorted "and i fail to see why it's a problem. i wanted to make something nice for ya."

" _Why_?!" you exasperated "We've met all of three times! I have been nothing but rude, dishonest and violent on every occasion! Hell, I nearly stabbed you in the hand the first time we met! What the hell indication have I given you that I am open to what you want from me?"

"yeah, I wasn't too sure either." Red confessed "but then i saw that bikini."

"You perv-!"

"nah, hear me out." he interrupted "ya remember what ya said? that swimsuits weren't ya thing? well that bikini ya were wearin' was fucking adorable - ya looked incredible in it. for whatever reason, ya felt like ya couldn't wear it, even though ya clearly wanted to. what else are ya not doin' that you actually want to? bein' as soft and kind with others as ya are with the kid? lettin' yerself like people, lettin' 'em close to ya? you ain't made of stone, cupcake - i bet ya dream of sex and romance just like everybody else does."

"Let me make myself crystal clear." you told him, pinching the bridge of your nose as you felt a headache rising in your temples "I am not interested. Not in this, not in you. And 'no' does not mean 'convince me'."

You hung up before he could retort, turning your phone off. You considered for a moment that Red may have been the writer of the letters, but... not only did that not seem like his style, but he definitely would have signed his name to them. You took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before sighing it out. Why wasn't this guy getting the hint? This was the last thing you needed when you were so close to your goal. Shaking the thoughts of the grinning skeleton from your mind, you proceeded to your ultimate destination.

* * *

 

The Warehouse, as it was known, was a live music venue that once upon a time had hosted many jazz and blues acts, but as those genres became more niche and upscale the owners had re-branded, it becoming a space where any up-and-coming artist could play to a crowd for a small fee. The last Friday of every month your band, Dorito Massacre, took the stage. It wasn't too big a deal - it was just something you did for fun, and none of you were trying the break into the big time or get discovered. Well, all but one of you.

Once upon a time, you and your friends had been bemoaning the impossibility of a stable future in this economy, when your friend Mohammed had admitted he wanted to be a music producer, expecting you to laugh. You hadn't - nobody did. You had told him to go for it. In a last ditch effort to have his dreams shattered, he had admitted to your (then) principal what his aspirations were. You understood - hope was a dangerous thing, it was better it be crushed under the unforgiving boot of reality before allowed to grow too big. Your principal - the last true educator in your opinion - immediately offered him a disused music room to practice in on evenings and weekends, much to Mohammed's shock. Even so, life wasn't exactly lining up to give a young black Muslim man chances to prove himself, so you and your friends did the only thing you could do to support him: you formed a band. Tyrone played drums, Tink played both lead guitar and bass (a feat made possible by her four arms and a specially made instrument), Mia took the keyboard and you sang. You hadn't been a great singer at first, but that same principal set you up with the schools choir master for lessons, and the rest was history.

Every month, your performance at the Warehouse tackled a different genre of music, all the better to fill out Mohammed's experience. The young man had thrown himself into the task with gusto now his hope was allowed to flourish, buoyed on by the motto that 'you miss 100% of the shots you don't take', learning not only sound mixing and composition, but lighting, pyrotechnics and other stagecraft to enhance your performances. His hard work paid off, as he was noticed by a local recording studio - after a few months of placement there, they offered to pay for his college. You were so, so proud of him. 

Even though your end goal had been reached, you all decided to continue to perform together until September, when the unforgiving passage of time would send you on different paths, be it education or employment. You had the easy job, learning 7-10 songs in a month to sing, while your friends had to learn to play all those songs without missing a note or a beat. With help from both word of mouth and putting your performances on youtube, you had formed quite a following, and now your every performance was sold out. Some people came every week, others only when the genre was to their liking. Your personal favourite had been 'guilty pleasures' - a set of atrociously uncool songs, but damn had they been fun to sing.

As you arrived at the Warehouse, the others were already setting up their instruments and checking the sound levels.

"Hey, trouble." Mia greeted on seeing you "You got your costume this time?"

"Oh my god, I forget it one time!" you exclaimed theatrically.

"Save your voice." Mohammed suggested as he adjusted the height of the microphone stand to suit you "And don't change into your costume yet - I don't want you spilling pizza all over it like you did last time."

The group laughed companionably, you throwing your stuff backstage with everyone else's as you got to work. After set-up and practice, there was a brief break while Mohammed went to temple, returning with your ceremonial pizza before you all got dressed. The theme this month was 'Queens greatest hits', and you were definitely going to rock them.

* * *

 

The night was electric - everybody loved Queen, and when you hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody', the roof almost exploded from the cheers. With the bright lights shining in your face, the 300 person venue before you was nothing more than a dark sea of bobbing and swaying, punctuated by the occasional flash of a camera-phone. It was hot as all blazes, but you didn't care. On the stage, you were able to lose yourself, no walls or pretences, no budgets or long-term goals or babysitting, just you and the music. You danced. You sang. You were _alive_.   

It was nearing the end of the set, hitting the crescendo of 'Somebody to Love', when you noticed something strange at the end of the stage - someone was climbing up onto it, not an easy feat when it was five foot above the pit. They were human, with a hoodie covering their face. There was no security at the venue - it was small, and the audience was usually pretty well behaved, knowing they'd be banned otherwise. The people at the front of the crowd started to jeer and boo as the person stood up, revealing themselves to be a tall man. 

"Hey, get off the stage!" Tyrone yelled as he stopped playing, the others following suit unsurely.

You had stopped singing already, eyeing the interloper. His eyes were focused right on you - you almost missed him putting his hand in his pocket, but the glint of the knife that he withdrew from it got your attention.

"If I can't have you..." he said quietly, breathing uneven as his shoulders started to shake "NO ONE CAN!"

The man lunged at you, knife high over his head. Thinking fast, you grabbed the closest thing - the microphone stand - and used it to defend yourself, blocking his arm as he swung at you. Who the fuck was this guy?! Someone in the crowd screamed, and instantly there was panic, all the doors thrown open as people started to run out. You focused on the danger at hand, pushing the man back. He was so much bigger than you, it didn't give you much room to move. What could you-?

Your train of thought was derailed as he lunged for you again, only to be suddenly thrown to the side by a flash of red. There was shocked screaming from the crowd as the attacker fell to the ground, revealing the figure behind him: Red, brow almost glowing with sweat, holding what could only be described as a magical bone club in one hand.

"Th... the fuck...?" you panted, still holding the mic stand so hard your knuckles were white.

"are you okay?" he barked, looking right at you.

"Am... am I?"

You couldn't answer. You were shaking. The next thing you knew, he had his arms wrapped around you, pulling you close to his chest.

"alright, shows over!" he barked at the rest of the band "Get everybody outta here!"

The rest of the band, stupid kids like yourself, still had no idea what to do, but the owners started evacuating the crowd. The attacker, rousing from his blow, tried to get up, but with a barely audible 'ding', he was pinned to the ground by his soul.

"don't look at 'im." Red ordered, spinning you around to block your view with his body "did he get ya anywhere? are ya hurt?"

"N-No, I... I'm okay..."

Your mind was reeling. What the fuck just happened? You shook harder, but made no attempt to escape Red's grip as you waited for the police to arrive.


	6. A Second Change in Perspective

Well, that was... unexpected. He had seen that creep hanging around, leaving those nasty letters and scaring cats in the middle of the night, but he assumed it was Anna he was stalking. Judging by the complete surprise on your face, so had you. You were one tough cookie, defending yourself like that, but... he had to step in. He couldn't stand the thought of some creep touching you.

He leaned back against the wall as he sat on Axe's bed, eye lights extinguished in the pitch black room so he wouldn't be seen. From here, he got the perfect view of your room, and if he stood closer to the window, he got the best view of your bed. That's where you sat now, your mother on one side rubbing your back, your sister holding your hand on the other. They were the only people you let see you upset, the only ones you'd let comfort you.

You hadn't had much reaction at the time - he had thought you were in shock, shaking silently - but your voice had been oddly calm and collected as the police questioned you. It wasn't until you got home that you broke down, crying and shaking from the shock of what happened. Stars, he could still smell you on his clothes. He might never wash them again. Did you have to be traumatised before you'd let him hold you? He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but... it could be arranged.

He desperately needed a smoke after such a stressful day, but any light in the vacant house would draw your attention. You were observant like that.  

He hoped that guy would get out on bail. Mostly so he could kill him, but also because knowing he was out on the street would scare you. You had already shown that you weren't above asking a man for protection, even if it was for your sisters sake rather your own. In fact, why wait for bail? Wouldn't it be so much scarier if he _escaped_? Well... 'escaped', anyway.

He stood from the bed, eyes still fixed on you. You were beautiful when you cried. He wanted to hold you, stroke you hair and kiss your cheeks until the tears stopped. He wanted to hold you down and fuck you into the mattress until you screamed his name. It wasn't just sex he wanted - any whore could get him off - he wanted your complete and utter devotion, for you to be as obsessed with him as he was with you. He would make it happen, regardless of what you said.

But first, he had business to attend to.

* * *

 

It was early in the morning when Red arrived home, stretching his tired bones. Edge was still up, halfheartedly watching the cooking channel and making notes.

"If you oversleep in the morning, I'm going to chuck a bucket of water on you." he said by way of greeting.

Red just laughed.

"don't worry, bro, it's all good." he assured as he sauntered to the kitchen "we got anything in the fridge?"

"I bought leftovers from the cafe." Edge informed him "Oh, and Wing called."

Red immediately froze, regretting his question before he even asked it.

"what'd he say?"

"He wanted a progress report." the younger brother said "He thinks we're taking too long."

"this ain't an easy snatch." Red reminded him "we gotta plan this carefully or we're in for one hell of a bad time."

"I believe you." Edge assured "But Wing is getting impatient. If you stall any longer, he says he'll come here himself. Whatever your plan is, I suggest you pick up the pace."

Red grumbled, grinding his teeth. The last thing he needed was Wing messing things up. He needed more time.

"i gotcha, bro." he said anyway, already formulating a plan.   


	7. Fights and Understandings

You woke up to find Suzy in your bed, snuggled up under one of your arms. It took your sleep addled brain a moment to realise how cute that was, but now you had a conundrum - how to get out of bed without waking her. A problem akin to waking a kitten that had fallen asleep on your lap: complete sacrilege! Needless to say, you failed, the toddler stirring and rubbing her eyes as you hung awkwardly off the bed by one leg. She sleepily called your name, melting your heart. Suzy didn't know what The Bad Thing was that had happened, but she knew it had something to do with you, and had stuck to you like white on rice all weekend.

You didn't need to be told not to go to work - after nearly being stabbed live on stage, you had barely left your bedroom, never mind the house. However, the air in the house was tense: you had discovered from Sugar of all people that your attacker had escaped from jail, he having seen it on the news while staying with his cousins. You had confronted your foster parents on why they didn't tell you, only to be met with stuttering excuses of 'not wanting to worry you'. As opposed to being completely unprepared to see him again? You were still mad at them.

Understandably, the police had had a lot of questions for you. Did you know the attacker? Had he tried to contact you before? Did you do anything to lead him on?

"Into fucking _stabbing_ me?!" you had yelled right into the officers face "Are you _insane_?!"

Those disgusting 'love letters' had been your only clue to the stalkers intentions, and the idea that they had been for you and not Anna never even crossed your mind. On a hunch, you had texted Axe, asking him if the important thing he had to remember had anything to do with the post. About an hour later you received a bunch of exclamation marks by way of reply, followed by 'guess it's too late to be useful, huh?' You tried not to be mad at him. It wasn't his fault.

"Morning, Suzy-bean," you greeted, picking the toddler up when she raised her arms in the air "You ready for breakfast?"

"Pancakes." she requested sleepily.

"We'll see."

You picked up your phone as well, carrying Suzy on one hip as you checked your messages. Your manager understood why you hadn't gone to work over the weekend, but... Edges passable-at-best cooking wasn't as popular with his fellow monsters as yours was, and upon learning you weren't working many would up and leave without ordering. You never had that problem with humans - was it a monster thing? You'd have to ask Edge.

Speaking of, you sent him a text to request a favour. You got a reply almost immediately, and to your surprise he had been just about to suggest the very same thing.

You entered the kitchen to find Nana and your foster father sat at the table. The way they went silent on seeing you told you what they had been talking about.

"Morning, baby." Nana greeted "Sleep well?"

"Fine." you answered "Just grabbing some breakfast before work."

"What?!" your foster father exclaimed "You're not going to work!"

"Watch me." you challenged.

"With that lunatic out there?!"

"What's the alternative?! Stay in the house for the rest of my life?!"

Suzy started crying, not awake enough to deal with loud voices. With great difficulty, Nana took her from you, shuffling back to the living room.

"Let's put on some Paw Patrol..." you heard her tell the child.

You and your foster father stared each other down, both stubborn and unbending.

"You're not going to work." he ordered.

"I am going to work." you corrected.

"It isn't safe."

"In a public place, surrounded by people I know? And for that matter, how is it any safer here? He knows where we live!"

Your foster father called you name in an attempt to calm you down, raising his hand, but you were on a roll now.

"Let him come at me when I've got a kitchen full of knives, see who gets stabbed then!"

"Oh my god! " he exclaimed "This is exactly why I don't want you going to work! You've been through a traumatic experience, if we don't handle this right it'll be ten steps back for you!"

"I'm going to work!" you said with more force "I will not just sit here and be a victim!"

"You're not going and that's final!" he yelled before catching himself, trying his best to calm down "I'm just... I'm just trying to do what's best for you!"

"Yeah, my father thought that too."

Your foster father flinched, knowing you weren't talking about him. You didn't wait for him to respond before storming out the kitchen.

"I'll eat at work."

You didn't even look at Nana and Suzy as you passed them, stomping up the stairs and slamming the bathroom door shut. Once your business there was concluded, you continued to stomp to your room. You were surprised to find Anna sitting on the bed on her phone.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" you challenged.

"Daddy said I shouldn't go." she told you, texting someone "At least until they catch the guy. You two have another fight?"

"You heard, huh?"

"Hard not to."

You walked over to the cupboard and pulled out your clothes, starting to get dressed in the moodiest possible way. For a while, there was silence.

"So I've been thinking," 

 _For a while_.  

"What about a nice hat?" Anna finished.

"For what?" you asked.

"For Red's present."

"Ha?"

You turned to her, seeing her still completely nonchalant on her phone.

"Why would I buy him a present?" you asked.

"Um, because he saved your life?" she said like it was obvious.

"He did not 'save my life.'" you insisted "I had everything under control."

"Why are you such a bitch to him?" Anna suddenly spat.

"Excuse me?" you fired back.

"Red's never been anything but nice to you." she argued "He stopped Suzy jumping off those freezers, he helped you when you were having a freak-out, he _made_ that nice hoodie for you - which you were totally ungrateful for, by the way - and he even stopped you getting stabbed! But you've been nothing but a bitch to him the entire time!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" you yelled "You have no idea about men!"

"What, and you do?! Why won't you just give him a chance?!"

"Why? Because he _wants_ me to?!"

A car horn blared sharply from outside, sounding three times.

"Fuck all of this." you swore "I'll talk to you when you decide to grow up a bit!"

Anna started to argue back, but you were already out the door, grabbing your phone and bag on the way out the room. You slammed the front door so hard that the glass panes rattled, but you didn't look back, jumping into the passenger seat of Edges convertible. He raised a brow bone at you, but kept his mouth shut as he started to drive away.

* * *

 

It had been a busy day. You took out your frustrations on your food, cutting, chopping, slicing, pounding meat until it was tender as a flower petal... Edge had to take sharp things from you more than once, and the wait staff didn't come in the kitchen at all, leaving orders and notes on the serving window instead. You calmed down eventually, but your sour mood remained all day. 

"Hey," Edge said to you as you were cleaning up at the end of the shift "Why don't you get some fresh air? I'll finish this, just... don't go far."

You kept your mouth shut. Edge hadn't done anything to piss you off all day, didn't even ask you why you were upset, so you didn't want to bite his head off. Instead, you grabbed a large boning knife and headed out the fire escape into the alley. The metal door made a satisfying 'CLANG' as it hit the brick wall. You wanted to slam it shut again, but thought better of it. A deep, familiar chuckle caught your attention, followed by the click and soft glow of a lighter. You turned to face the stranger, giving him a dead-pan expression.

"You shouldn't be here." you told him "You know that."

The large man took a drag from his cigarette, taking a moment before blowing it out again.

"My only child gets attacked by some nut and you expect me to stay away?" he said "That's cold."

He stood away from the wall to reveal his face, but it was entirely unnecessary: you would know your father anywhere. He was dressed in his 'civilian disguise' to blend in: jeans and t-shirt with combat boots, hunting knife tucked into the brim, and a leather coat just big enough to hide whatever weapon he was illegally carrying. He looked you up and down, appraising your state, before smiling.

"You look well." he said "I'm glad. That extra weight looks good on you."

He took your chin in his hand and turned your head this way and that until you slapped him away, making him laugh.

"Just making sure he didn't get you anywhere." he said "So what exactly happened?"

"Exactly what you saw on the news." you answered.

"News? Nah, I have my own sources. They say you were attacked on stage?"

"Dad..." you sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose "I'm fine."

"Of course you're fine." he knew.

"I don't even know who that guy was." you confessed.

"He was no-one." your father told you, taking a manilla folder from his coat and leafing through "High school drop out, couldn't hold a job - pizza delivery was the latest - lived over his mothers garage. A real loser."

He handed you the file - inside was your attackers photograph, his address, credit history, pictures of his family... You knew how he got this, of course. You were pretty sure you'd be able to do it too, given a little time to remember how, but after your last two years living a 'normal' life, you were somewhat disturbed by how easily your father got the information.

"Did you manage to find him?" you asked.

"Find?" he echoed "That's the thing, pumpkin - I don't think he escaped."

"You saying he was relocated?"

"Nah, I think he was busted out."

"By who?"

"That's the mystery." he confessed "This guy was a nobody, had no connections powerful enough to break him out, no friends who'd take the risk. So who else was involved in this? Who else knows someone who can break people out of the clink?"

"I don't keep in touch with any of those people anymore." you told him certainly.

"Maybe. Maybe you just don't know they're around." he took another drag from his cigarette "I'm a little disappointed. I thought I trained you better than that."

Trained. Not raised. _Trained_. 

Unlike many in your position, you didn't have a bad relationship with your father. On the contrary - the man adored you. Never expecting to ever have a child, he had called you his 'happiest surprise', and devoted his life to teaching you everything he knew about how to survive in the world. Therein lay the issue - after 30 years in the army, his view on what the world was was very distorted. You could hunt and kill any game, take apart an assault rifle and put it back together in less than 60 seconds, make explosives from many household chemicals... your friends growing up had been the children of off-the-grid survival nuts, your education where to stab a person to kill them as quickly as possible, or _not_ , how to field-dress a wound and urban survivalism. 

You hadn't see any problem with it at the time - you were furious when the social services caught up to you and put you in foster care after Miles arrested you one too many times for picking pockets. Looking back, though... looking back, you could see they had a point. Your father hadn't given you up without a fight. He would kill for you, after all. He had proven that. It wasn't until you yourself told him to leave, that - like all teenagers - you just wanted to be normal, that he finally disappeared, back into the wilderness he loved so much.

You handed him back the file.

"I'm not surrounded by danger here." you told him "This was a one-off incident. It won't happen again."

"That why you're stood out here with a boning knife?"

He took the file, slipping it back into his coat.

"You don't gotta worry about that guy." he went on "If he turns up at all, it'll be as a corpse. I'd be more worried about whoever broke him out - if you don't know who it is, then they're being very careful to hide from you. Be suspicious of everyone."

He took a small tin box from his coat, stubbing his cigarette out inside before resealing it.

"Congratulations on getting into college, by the way." he said "That subject is right up your alley."

"I wish you would just ask me." you sighed "It's not like I wouldn't have told you."

"I'm not supposed to be here, remember?" he pointed out, ruffling your hair before turning around to leave "Take care of yourself, pumpkin."

"You've got thirty minutes before I call Miles." you warned him.

"Double the time I need." he laughed.

He strode down the alley, disappearing around the corner. You felt a stress headache building up behind your eyes. You took a deep breath, turning back towards the door: you could see Edge clearly, wiping down the counter. There was no way he hadn't heard you. He turned to you a little, as if confirming as much, before turning away again.

"None of my business." you heard him say.

You couldn't help but sigh again, putting the knife back in the rack as you ambled back into the kitchen. Your mind was racing. Your whole body was sore.

"Hey, can I stay at your place tonight?" you asked.

Edge stopped cleaning. When he looked at you, his expression was honestly surprised.

"My place?" he asked.

"Is that okay? If it's not-"

"I didn't say that! I'm just... surprised."

"Why?" you asked "We're friends, aren't we?"

You could have knocked Edge down with a feather after that - he looked like his whole world had been rocked.

"I... YES! Ahem... yes, of course we're friends! As you know, I am a man with many friends, a well respected monster who-"

"Is that a yes?"

"Dammit, Und-!"

Edge actually coughed, he stopped himself so fast. His whole skull went scarlet. It wasn't the first time he had caught himself calling you by that name.

"Yes, you can come over." he finally said "You can stay in my room. I'll take the couch."

* * *

 

Edge's house was a modest size, a two-up-two-down with a front and back garden. You were a little surprised by the Christmas lights strung up around the guttering, considering the time of year, but there wasn't much else in the way of decoration. You had sent your foster mother a text telling her where you were, but the wording had made it clear that you weren't asking permission.

"What do you want for dinner?" Edge asked as he closed the garage door.

"Anything is fine."

"Want to make it together?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Lasagne it is, then." he said with a smirk "I can finally show you my superior recipe!"

"Ooh, big talk for a guy who broke three plates today."

He led you into the house, excusing himself to go change and directing you towards the living room. What you saw made you slap your hand to your mouth to stop yourself from laughing: Red was lain on the couch with nothing but his boxers and socks on, box of doughnuts balanced on his rib cage, tv remote in one hand and doughnut in the other, face and fingers covered in powdered sugar. Hearing the ' _snrk_!' that left your mouth, Red looked over, his eyes becoming pinpricks in his sockets when he spotted you. The next thing you knew, the doughnut box clattered to the floor, Red having disappeared entirely.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WEREN'T ALONE?!?!" Red screamed from upstairs.

You honestly never thought you'd hear him yell.

"IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM IF YOU WEREN'T SITTING AROUND IN YOUR UNDERWEAR!" Edge yelled back "AGAIN!!"

You couldn't help but laugh. Edge emerged from his room soon after dressed in something more casual then his work clothes - well, casual for him, anyway. Red plodded down soon after, skull still glowing scarlet, in his shorts and red vest.

"hey." he greeted, not quite able to look at you.

"Hey." you greeted back, not able to stop another little chuckle escaping.

You turned to Edge, who had already started taking ingredients and pans out of the kitchen cupboards.

"Go ahead and start without me." you told him "I need to talk with your brother a sec."

He raised a brow bone at you, but otherwise just shrugged.

"Fine. Be quick, though, I'd hate to miss a single second of you getting schooled!"

Red looked surprised, but not unpleasantly, ushering you into the back porch and closing the door behind him.

"so, uh... what can i do for ya, cupcake?" he asked flirtatiously.

Well, here goes nothing.

"I just..." you began "I wanted to thank you for the assist the other day."

"you woulda had 'im." he knew "in a fair fight. but ya weren't exactly armed."

"Maybe." you agreed "But thanks to you it ended a lot quicker than it might have otherwise. So... thanks."

"ya don't gotta thank me for helpin' ya, cupcake." Red said with a shrug "i consider that a pleasure."

The way he was looking at you made your ears burn. You hoped it wasn't noticeable. Not quite as pervy as looking you up and down, but there was definitely something going on in that hard head.

"What were you doing there?" you asked.

That got his attention, his smile twitching a moment.

"say again?"

"What were you doing there?" you repeated "It's too much of a coincidence to think that you just happened to drop by. Unless Queen is your jam?"

"who doesn't like freddy?" Red laughed "but nah, you're right. truth be told, after you chewed me out i went to the cafe to eat my feelings, and who should be working but ya kid sister."

You nodded - checked out so far.

"and since she knows ya so well, i ask her what i'm doin' wrong. she's the one who tells me to go visit ya at the concert."

And that explained your fight with her earlier.

"Do me a favour." you asked Red "Stop getting dating advice from sixteen year old girls. Anna's a rom-com junkie, she doesn't realise how creepy half that stuff is yet."

"creepy...?"

Red closed his eyes, shaking his head and blowing air out of his nose.

"not what i was going for." he admitted "but i gotta admit, i'm runnin' outta ideas."

"You could always just accept no for an answer and move on with your life." you suggested.

His red eyes locked right on yours, his expression hard to read. He seemed to be thinking.

"how about a deal?" he suggested.

"What did you have in mind?"

"one date. you an' me, this friday night." he said "if ya don't have a good time, then i'll never bother you about it again."

You considered his proposition. On the one hand, you don't like being nudged into things, especially when it came to things like this, but on the other, it might finally shut him up. It was just one night, and you could always take a taser... which you definitely didn't have, if anyone asked. After a few more moments consideration, you held out your hand. Red eagerly grabbed it, but you held his phalanges tight.

"One night." you made clear "Then I never want to hear about this again."

"oh, cupcake," Red practically purred "trust me - you are gonna have one _magical_ night."  


	8. Magical? Not Really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that last chapter had some amazing comments! It's really interesting to see different peoples interpretations of the characters and events, including some things I didn't even think of. Glad you're all enjoying this tale of mine!

"You're wearing _that_?"

"Yes."

"You're not even going to put on makeup?"

"No."

"What about some heels? I have some you can borrow!"

"Anna..."

"Or that red dress of mine! He'd really like that!"

"I don't care what he'd like!"

"Alright, settle down." your foster mother cooed, trying to keep everything quiet while Suzy dozed in her arms "It's just a thank you date, Anna, she's not trying to impress him."

"Well why not?" Anna asked "It's a date, isn't it? You should try harder! Slut it up a bit! You have protection, right?"

"Anna!" your foster mother gasped.

"Kill me now." you grumbled, checking you had everything you needed in your bag.

You once again worried about Anna's dating future. Your foster father loitered nearby, arms crossed and tapping his foot unhappily.

"Your phone fully charged?" he asked you again.

"Yes." you confirmed again.

"Got your mace?"

"Yup."

"Emergency money in a safe place?"

"So safe I can't mention it in polite company."

"Okay." he grumbled "I won't go to bed until you're home, so call me if you need me to pick you up. I mean it - anywhere you are, I'll come get you. Call me."

"If I need to." you assured him "Thanks."

He was more nervous than you were, but for much the same reason. Seeing the way men treated his biological child, he was more than a little reticent to let you go on this date. However, after your fight and awkward apologies the next day, he had reluctantly accepted that it was your decision to make (that, and your biological father appearing to check on you had put his nose out of whack, but he didn't mention that).

As your foster mother had said, this was just a 'thank you' date, and it sure as hell wasn't going to get to the point where protection was needed (what goes on that girls head? No more chick flicks for her). You still didn't really want to go, but you hoped that Red was a man of his word, and would drop the issue once you had a terrible time. Edge had assured you that he wouldn't let anyone harass his friend, even his own brother, so you were sure Red would keep his word one way or another.

You had spent the week thinking about what Red's idea of a 'magical' date would be, and you were sure you would hate it. You were certain a pub would be involved somewhere (you didn't drink), some kind of greasy food (like you didn't have enough of that at work), or even just hanging out at his place (lame). Just in case, you had dug your taser out from its hiding place. You didn't think Red was _that_ kind of perv, but luck favoured the prepared.

You weren't wearing anything different from what you'd wear to hang out with your friends for the evening: a nice pair of jeans, trainers, and a nice top. Minimal jewellery, no makeup. Even at night the summer heat was oppressive, so you weren't taking a jacket. You weren't putting a lot of effort in.

The doorbell went. To your surprise, he was right on time. Not 'Edge' on time, which could be calculated to the second, but on time nonetheless. Anna squealed and ran upstairs, causing Nana to laugh, while Suzy grumbled and nestled further into your foster mother before going back to sleep. Your foster father was the one who answered the door, glaring at the red-eyed skeleton. Red only looked mildly surprised, putting on the most friendly smile he was capable of with those sharp teeth.

"you must be the father." he realised.

"That I am." he confirmed "So, where exactly are you two going tonight?"

"what, and ruin the surprise? don't be a spoilsport."

Your foster father opened his mouth to argue, but you appeared behind him and nudged him out of the way.

"It'll be fine." you told him "Relax."

"hey, cupcake." Red greeted you, flashing a genuine smile "ready to go?"

You took a moment to inspect what Red was wearing, hoping for some clue as to what he had planned - to your surprise, he was wearing suit trousers and a red button up shirt, sleeves folded up to his elbows, and suspenders instead of a belt.

"I thought you said 'casual'." you reminded him.

"i did." he assured with a shrug "but i'm trying to impress ya, remember? gotta step up my game if i'm gonna look good next to ya."

Anna thundered back down the stairs, holding some fabric out in front of her.

"At least wear this!" she all but begged you.

"Anna..." you grumbled warningly.

It was the hoodie Red had made you. Wearing that would send the entirely wrong message. Red just chuckled.

"thanks for the cheerleadin', kid." he said "but maybe next time. we gotta get goin'"

Not allowing for further ceremony, you clutched your bag and walked out the door. Your foster father made the phone symbol with his hand, watching you every step of the way to the waiting car.

"What did you have to do to borrow the car from Edge?" you chuckled on the way down the path.

"ya don't wanna know." he grumbled, opening the passenger side door for you.

"Anything to do with cleaning?" 

"... maybe."

You couldn't help another chuckle - that was exactly like Edge. 

"So, where are we going?" you asked once he was in the drivers seat.

"not far." he promised "we got a couple of hours to kill before the main event, but i got a little somethin' planned."

* * *

 

True to his word, the drive wasn't long - half an hour at the most - and the two of you made friendly small talk as he drove. He had half expected you to bring Suzy along, and truth be told you had thought about it (although you didn't tell him that). You were a little concerned as you approached the edge of town, but your destination soon became clear - set up in a large field at the outskirts of town was a summer carnival, the rides and booths already filling up with teenagers and young couples. You were quietly impressed - he had already exceeded your expectations.

"A carnival, huh?"

"yup." he confirmed as he pulled up in the parking lot "anything ya wanna eat, any game ya wanna try, any ride ya wanna go on, it's on me, just say the word."

"I'll hold you to that." you warned "I haven't eaten dinner yet."

Red just grinned, apparently pleased by that.

The two of you took a look around the carnival first, planning the order you wanted to tackle things in. Being a husky gentleman, Red wouldn't have fit on a lot of the ramshackle rides, but you didn't particularly mind - you didn't fancy standing in the long queues with the shrieking kids anyway. You started with the game booths, Red laying down his money at any you took even a slight interest in. You figured out pretty quickly how each one was rigged and adjusted accordingly - the look on Red's face when you hit every target in the shooting range perfectly, despite the crooked sight, was priceless. Almost as priceless as the look on the guy running the booth. You won a teddy bear.

Red tried to impress you at the coconut shy - two of his balls missed, while the third hit it straight on, but the coconut didn't budge at all. The skeleton grit his teeth and glared daggers at it.

"Try again, buddy?" the guy running the booth asked "You can win something nice for your date."

"Don't waste your money." you insisted "It's rigged as all hell."

"No it isn't." the operator barked.

Red took immediate umbrage to this, slamming his money down on the counter so hard that you were surprised it didn't leave bone dents in the plywood. The guy running the booth almost smirked at you before handing Red three more balls. Stupid male bravado. Who honestly cared? Apparently, Red did, as he wound up his whole body in preparation for the ball throw. You thought he'd probably knock the whole stand over before the coconut fell down. You were surprised once again when the coconut completely exploded from the impact of the ball, leaving only a shard of it's bottom impaled on three nails.

"so it is rigged." Red growled "i think ya owe my date an apology."

The operator had gone very pale.

"T-take whatever prize you want." he offered in a small voice.

"I'll take the colouring set." you magnanimously settled on, hardly able to not smirk yourself.

"an' i want that weird blue doll thing." Red added "the one that looks like it's got a spade on it's head."

The operator handed them both over, hoping to get rid of you as quickly as possible.

"think suzy would like this?" Red asked as you walked away.

"So that was your plan." you realised "I was wondering."

Red just chuckled as he handed you the doll. You waited until you were out of earshot before you spoke again.

"You used magic." you accused.

"guilty as charged." he admitted "that a problem?"

"Not at all - they cheated first, they should be prepared to be cheated back."

Red's chuckle rippled through his entire body as he hugged you from the side.

"you really are the whole package, ain't ya, cupcake?"

When the booths ended, you (that is, Red) bought some carnival food - all sorts of deep fried confectionery the likes of which you never even imagined, neon-coloured candyfloss, unmentionable meat products and pizza with some... _imaginative_ toppings. Like scorpions.

"Oh my god, this is disgusting!" you said with half a mouth full of deep fried Oreo "I love it!"

You thought it best not to attempt anything too energetic with a full stomach, so the two of you wandered around the stalls for a while, gawking at the complete and utter crap that was on sale.

"Oh my god, who makes this stuff?" you laughed as you sauntered around one selling kitchen gadgets "Is that an egg cuber?!"

"babe, look!" Red gasped "it's an alli-grater!"

His eye lights were shining as he picked it up - it was a small handheld grater whose handles folded over to create an alligators jaw, complete with little eyes. You burst out laughing at the look of pure joy on Red's face.

"A carrot sharpener!" you pointed out, still laughing.

"spaghetti twirlin' fork." Red played along, bumping you playfully in the side "for when the noodles are just too mighty!"

"Chorks!"

"oh my god that's amazin'!"

You kept laughing your way around for a while. Red bought some artisan fudge for his brother, handing you two little boxes for Anna and Suzy. Some of the jewellery stalls were pretty good, making pieces from recycled products - the ends of pencils, broken beads, old keys and bottle caps - you were actually impressed. Realising you hadn't spent a single penny the entire night (which had kind of been your plan, all the better to make yourself a bad date), you considered buying something. Your face nearly broke from smiling when you found the perfect thing, paying for it before Red noticed. He was busy checking out some handmade fabric bags when you tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hold out your hand and close your eyes." you ordered.

"pardon?" he asked, completely confused.

"Hold out your hand and close your eyes." you repeated.

Hearing your playful tone of voice, Red did as you asked. You fixed the item to his wrist with a little difficulty - damn fiddly clasp! - making him laugh.

"Okay," you said when it was fixed "Open your eyes."

He peaked out of one eye first before taking a proper look - around his wrist was a cord bracelet made from braided recycled plastic. The plastic in question? 'Big Red' gum wrappers. The skeleton burst out laughing, almost bending double.

"oh my god!" he wheezed "i love it! It's perfect!"

Once he had finished laughing, he checked his watch.

"okay, we got twenty minutes before we have to leave." he told you "anythin' ya wanna do?"

"Nothing comes to mind." you admitted "You?"

"well..." he considered, looking around before his eyes lit on something, suddenly grinning "ever have yer soul trait tested?"

You looked around to where he was pointing. It was one of the few monster-run booths, where a rotund cat and pigtail-wearing alligator monster were chatting with some teenage girls. The humans squealed happily and ran off, leaving the booth empty.

"Somehow I doubt their accuracy." you admitted.

"one way to find out." Red insisted, leading you over.

The other monsters spotted him almost immediately, perking up from their already quite perky demeanour's.

"Oh my god, Catty, look who it is!" the alligator monster declared.

"It's, like, totally a Sans, Bratty!" the cat - Catty? - responded "Totally hi, dude!"

"ladies." Red greeted.

"So, like, what brings you to our booth?" Bratty (?) asked.

"my date here wants to get their soul trait tested." he told them, gesturing to you.

They both looked at you, and for a solid beat there's silence. Just when you're about to speak, you're cut off by them squealing.

"Oh my god, like totally!" Catty exclaimed.

"Your date is like, totally adorable!" Bratty agreed.

"Totally!"

"Step up to our booth, we'll totally see if you guys have compatible traits."

"That's not what we're doing here." you grumbled.

Catty and Bratty almost ran around the table, grabbing the stuff in your arms and pushing it onto Red before pulling you around the other side. You saw, written on a board on the side of the booth, a list of things soul traits were used for (your perfect career, your best friends, etc), and right at the top in sparkling pink was 'your perfect partner - make sure your soul traits are compatible!' You briefly thought that's what Red had seen across the pathway.

You didn't take the whole soul trait thing seriously. To you, it was like horoscopes, or the Chinese zodiac. A harmless distraction, but not something to base your life around.

"Okay, so here's how it works." Bratty told you, stopping you on an 'x' on the ground "You and I are totally going to start a confrontation."

"Uh-" you went to object.

"Like, don't worry, it's totally not real." Catty assured you "It'll bring out your soul so we can see what colour it is, then compare it to this chart here."

You looked at the chart Catty was stood by - there were maybe thirty colours on the spectrum, each with a single word describing them ('courage', 'kindness', 'perseverance', etc).

"And then we give you this little book here." Catty went on, showing you a cheap pamphlet "It, like, tells you all about your soul trait and stuff!" 

"It's super popular!" Bratty told you.

"All the cool girls are doing it." Catty agreed.

"Okay!" you agreed, if only to get them to stop talking "just... tell me what I have to do."

"Okay!" they both said at the same time.

Catty jumped back to the chart while Bratty backed away a few paces.

"Here we go!"

An unpleasant stuttering feeling flowed through your whole body. Everything around you went dark and silent. In front of you, you saw Bratty lit up in the blackness, her entire form white.

"Like, okay!" she said, voice even louder now it was the only thing you could hear "We're totally in a confrontation! How do you feel?"

"...Weird." you admitted "This isn't entirely good. Feels pretty bad, actually."

"Totally don't worry, it won't last long." she assured "Take a look at your soul!"

You tore your eyes from her to the only other thing you can see - a small heart floating near your chest. It looked almost like a glass ornament containing what was at once a fog, light and thick liquid, swirling and oozing and shining around itself. The 'glass' of it was a little cracked on one side, but it held strong. It was actually... kind of beautiful. The colour was a soft, rosy pink, with a little touch of green at the bottom. It looked a little like a peach.

"That's a soul?" you muttered, more to yourself than Bratty.

"Sure is!" she confirmed anyway "Yours is totally amazing! The best I've seen today!"

You were sure she said that to everyone.

"What now?" you asked.

"Do you want to fight?" Bratty asked.

"What? No!"

"Cool, me neither."

The darkness started to fade, and with an unsettling 'whoosh'ing feeling, your soul reentered your body. The sound and colours of the carnival returned, and you found Catty and Red staring at you with wide eyes - Catty with boundless enthusiasm, Red with... something else.

"Oh my god!" Catty yelled "Totally congratulations!"

"Um... thank you?"

You were so confused.

"Your soul trait!" she went on, pointing to the chart beside her "Is totally 'love'! That's wicked cool!"

"You're compatible with _so many_ people." Bratty elaborated.

"And that green at the bottom?" Catty continued "That was 'kindness'!"

"It's totally normal for humans to have a secondary trait."

"Totally."

"Cool..." you said, still confused "And that means?"

"It means!" Catty announced, leafing through the pamphlet "That your best careers are either in healthcare, childcare, or cooking monster food!"

That last one got your attention.

"It means you're, like, totally motivated by your love of others." Bratty elaborated again "And a desire to be kind. You're a totally nice person at your core."

"Totally!" Catty agreed.

"Well, then." you said dismissively "What do we owe you?"

Red was silent as he paid the girls, who wished you an enthusiastic goodbye, and didn't utter a word until the two of you were in the car.

"'love', huh?" he mumbled, almost to himself.

"Apparently. Want to know my star sign too?"

Red's eyes snapped to you quickly, as if he had almost forgotten you were even there.  

"you sound like ya don't believe in it." he said.

"I don't." you admitted "It's cool to know, but acting like the whole thing defines you? I don't buy it."

"i do." Red admitted "i believe it a lot."

"That's-"

You stopped yourself before saying 'that's because you're a monster'.

"That's not something I would have expected from you." you settled on.

"i'm full of surprises, cupcake." he said with a grin "just you wait."

* * *

 

You continued your idle chitchat as he drove to the 'main event'. You would have been happy with just the carnival, but he had his heart set on his plan. Despite yourself... you had fun. You won some games, ate some ridiculous food, and Red didn't do anything objectionable the entire time. Maybe... maybe that perverseness was just nerves? Maybe he just didn't know how to express himself? That was certainly true of Edge, so why not Red? ('Stop making excuses for him', a little voice in the back of your head scolded.)

This drive was much longer than the last one, and after a while you could hear the crashing shush of the ocean, and smell the brine on the cold sea air. The car drove carefully along disused seaside paths, some so narrow you could have stuck your hand out and grazed the bushes, the incline steadily increasing. To your surprise, there was actually a car park at the end, where Red promptly pulled up.

"almost there." he promised "just gotta get somethin' from the boot."

"If it's a rope and/or a heavy weight, then I should warn you that I every intention of taking you down with me."

Red just laughed.

"you always think the best of me." he chuckled.

Rather than tools to throw you off the cliff with, he retrieved a blanket, lantern and basket. He took your arm gently as he led you towards the cliff face, stopping a safe distance away and setting up the blanket. Once the lantern was lit, you crept forward and took a peak at the ocean below.

"Wow, that sure is an inky expanse of blackness from which nothing good will ever emerge." you noted.

"ya sure have a way with words." Red chuckled.

You wandered back over to the blanket, staking out a corner for yourself. From the basket, Red pulled a thermos, some bottled water, cups and sandwiches.

"We just stuffed our faces at the carnival, and you packed us a picnic?"

"i wasn't sure if ya'd like the food there." he admitted "luck favours the prepared."

He handed you one of the cups.

"tea or water?"

"Tea." you requested, holding it up for him to pour "And I'm surprised you didn't bring something alcoholic."

"ya don't drink." he pointed out with a shrug "and drink driving doesn't make a good impression on a first date. gotta prove to ya that i'm a responsible skeleton."

"First date?" you picked up "That's awfully optimistic of you."

"hey, i said i'd back off if ya had a lousy time." Red remembered "And have ya?"

You couldn't lie - he had seen with his own eyes that you had fun at the carnival.

"There's still time." you said, not meaning to sound quite as teasing as you did.

He just laughed, checking his watch again.

"any minute now." he promised.

"Gonna tell me what we're waiting for?"

"nope."

You lapsed into a surprisingly comfortable silence, and ended up staring out over the edge of the cliff. The absolute blackness of the ocean at night was unnerving, with only the light of the moon and stars to illuminate it. When you looked back, Red's eyes were locked on you.

"Something on my face?" you asked.

"just thinkin'," he admitted "how much it suits ya."

"What does?" 

"yer soul trait. 'love'. it's exactly what i would've picked for ya."

You shook your head a little, still not believing any of it.

"What's yours then?" you asked.

"patience." he replied with a smile "goes real well with love."

"According to Catty and Bratty, lots of things do."

Red snorted.

"it really does suit ya perfectly." he insisted "i mean, you're such a good parent..."

Wait... what?

"Say again?"

"i mean..." Red looked away, a little embarrassed "suzy is a handful, but yer so good with her-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" you interrupted "Hang on, hold the phone - you think Suzy's my child?"

Red looked back at you, suddenly uncertain.

"s... she isn't?"

"No!" you cried "How old do you think I am?!"

There was that look again.

"twenty-five?"

You shook your head.

"twenty-two?" he asked nervously.

You shook you head again.

"... thirty?" he looked almost sick.

"I'm nineteen."

"oh thank god!" he exclaimed, putting a hand on his chest "any younger than that and i woulda lost my mind!"

"But thirty was okay?" you laughed.

"hey now, i can handle a grown adult just fine." he assured "but a man's gotta draw a bottom line, y'know?"

A thought occurred to you.

"So," you started incredulously "You thought I was a single parent in their mid twenties, still living with their parents and sharing a room with their little sister... and you were still interested?"

"yes?" he answered like it was obvious.

You stared each other down a moment. Your mind was buzzing.

"You really are full of surprises." you admitted.

"that's-"

Red stopped, his eyes darting up.

"oh!"

He suddenly grabbed you by the shoulders, startling you enough to allow him to pull you forward. The next thing you knew, you were on your back on the blanket, legs twisted under you from your sudden relocation. You were about to yell at Red when a flash above you caught your eye.

"A shooting star?"

Red lay down on the blanket beside you, putting his hands behind his head.

"meteor shower." he explained "couldn't get a view like this any closer to town."

"Oh, there's another one!"

You untangled your legs, getting comfortable on the ground as you watched the stars fall above you.   

      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made nachos while writing this chapter. I love being on holiday!


	9. A Third Change in Perspective

If Red had to define his idea of beauty, he would say it was the sight of the stars reflecting in your eyes. Imagine his luck, that you had agreed to go out with him the night of the long awaited meteor shower: he had intended on spending the night with a beer in one hand a his telescope in the other (and no, that wasn't a euphemism), but then you had agreed to go out with him... he knew he had to work in the stargazing somewhere, the only planning was what to do before hand. When he found out about the carnival, it was like the universe itself was on his side. Who didn't like fun? And if you ended up bringing your kid with you, it would be suitable for her too.

Except Suzy wasn't your kid - _that_ had been a revelation. You were together so often, and you were so attentive and patient...

"Childcare is expensive." you had told him on the drive home "We split it between the family so there's always someone with her. Didn't the fact she was a monster clue you in?"

"if you and i had kids, they'd be monsters." Red had explained "i just figured your ex was a monster."

"'Ex.'" you had laughed, but said nothing else.

The way the wind flowed through your hair when the convertible was moving took his breath away. You looked like his every dream, refined and poised, cute and demure. You had started singing along with the radio on the way home, so quietly, your eyes so far away, he wasn't entirely sure you realised you were doing it. He stayed silent, revelling in his private performance. You had the voice of an angel, smooth and soft, nothing like how it was on stage. It was so personal, so intimate, he had to stop himself pulling over on the road and taking you right there.

The journey ended far too soon for his liking. He had chosen to drive for the express purpose of spending more time with you, but as he pulled up to your house, he couldn't help but bemoan how brief it was. He walked you to the door, spying your father in the window still waiting for you.

"so be honest." he asked you "did you have a good time?"

You looked away, blushing on your ears ever so slightly. You would be honest, he knew. He was breaking down your walls, bit by bit. He had been on his best behaviour all night, hoping to gain your trust, to prove you were safe with him. It was paying off. No grand gestures would impress you. No amount of money or fancy jewellery. You were so down-to-earth, so amazing-!

"Okay, yeah, I did." you confessed, blushing more, not even realising the thoughts you had broken him out of "But don't read into it."

"so, how about dinner next week?" Red asked.

"Rushing things, aren't you?"

"i've only got until september to make you fall in love with me." he reminded you "i need every second i can get."

You gave him that look - that sceptical look that said you didn't believe him.

"How optimistic." you said.

You had agreed to dinner anyway. You had had a good time.

Baby steps, baby steps.

All good things comes to those who wait.

Soon.

Red was walking on air by the time he got home, dreamily handing the car keys back to his brother before floating up to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, reader-folk, I need your opinion.
> 
> I'm considering adding a smut chapter to this here fic (it wouldn't be the next one, don't worry), but 1) I've not written that type of thing before, so I'm not sure if I could pull it off and 2) I'm not sure if it really fits what type of fic this is? Would the implication be enough, or do people want all the dirty details?
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!


	10. You Trust Me, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people were worried in the last couple of chapters that we missed our meeting with Axe on Friday morning.
> 
> Don't worry! The meeting happened, but nothing of consequence occurred during it, so I didn't write it. They chatted, played chess, and the reader bought Axe some cheesecake.
> 
> Moving on...

"Okay, you ready to go?" you asked.

"absolutely." Axe assured.

"Got everything you need?"

"wallet... keys... phone..." he confirmed, finding each item in his jacket pocket "yup, all good."

"Alright, so you remember what we're doing today?"

"getting lost."

"Great, let's go!"

You held out your hand for Axe, which he took without question, and the two of you started down the street. The idea was simple - test Axe's short-term memory in a real world setting by going on a long walk around the area and tasking him to find his way back to the clinic. You were there to make sure he didn't actually get lost, and be a familiar face to keep him calm so he wouldn't get more stressed out than absolutely necessary. Whatever his new treatment was, it really was doing him wonders - the last couple of times you had visited, he didn't need to look in his journals once to keep up with the conversation.

"Can you walk and talk, or do you need to concentrate?" you asked him.

"let's find out." he suggested "tell me something."

"I got a picture from Sugar this morning."

"oh yeah?"

You pulled your phone out your pocket, smiling again when you saw the selfie: Sugars teeth were fixed, held in place by bright blue braces, with a round pair of glasses perched on his mended nose. There were still some metal splints and bandages holding his bones together, but they were only temporary. Beside him were two other monsters making 'v' signs, who the skel had identified as Creampuff and BB.

"oh my god!" Axe gasped in delight "send me that!"

"Are you kidding me?" you joked "I've got to stop myself sending this to random people in the phone book. Look at that smile!"

It was a nice day, the blue sky dotted with impossibly tall white clouds, but with a gentle breeze that blew away the worst of the heat. Since Axe was a complete lazybones (pun fully intended), it wasn't long before you were sat under a tree in the closest park with a couple of ice-creams. Axe had his eyes fixed on the heavens, watching the clouds as they floated almost imperceptibly slowly.

"hey, what do you call clouds like that?" he asked.

"Cumulonimbus." you told him "It's the biggest type of cloud."

"it's amazing." he wandered "it's so huge, you feel like it really puts everything in perspective. like all the problems down here don't even matter. that cloud wouldn't care."

You did't ruin his moment by mentioning that water vapour doesn't typically care about anything. As if struck by inspiration, Axe suddenly finished his ice-cream in three large bites and pulled one of his journals out of his pocket. On further inspection, you realises it was one you hadn't seen before - surely he's not on the next volume of 'stuff that happened' already? As he started to flick through it to a clean page, you saw neither his clean, small handwriting, nor the odd code he used sometimes, but rather pictures. Drawings, to be exact, mostly in pen, but one of two in watercolour.

"i-i'm not very good yet." he stammered, blushing a little when he sees you looking "but that's not really the point of it. the doc thinks that if i spend long enough staring at something, then i'll be able to remember it easier."

"Is it working?" you asked.

"eh, yes and no." he admited "when I practice drawing stuff it doesn't really work - like this here. what lamp is this? where is it? i don't know - but when i see something and i think, 'i really want to remember that', and then draw it, i do remember it easier."

"That's great!" you said enthusiastically "You gonna draw that sky?"

"do you mind?"

"Not at all. I have all day."

Axe flashed you a happy smile before pulling a fine-liner from his pocket and getting to work. Watching him draw was oddly relaxing - he drew like a scientist, only noting exactly what he could see and using cross hatching to shade. What started out as vague circles and lines soon became what was unmistakably a sky, with the canopy of the park beneath it. You weren't sure when you fell asleep, but you were suddenly awoken by the scream of an excited child running on the grass. Axe just chuckled as you grumbled profanities under your breath.

"How long was I asleep?" you asked.

"about twenty minutes." he told you "you tired today?" 

"It's been a busy week." you yawned to punctuate the statement "How's your drawing?"

Axe got a shit-eating grin on his face as he showed you what he'd drawn. On the one page is his sky drawing, on the other is you sleeping. It was actually pretty good.

"You sneaky son of a bitch." you admonished playfully "You could of at least got my good side."

"couldn't resist." he admitted with a shrug "you gonna tell me why your week was so busy that it's got you falling asleep in public?"

"Sure." you said, standing up and stretching "But not here. We're supposed to be 'getting lost', remember?"

"damn, i hoped you had forgotten."

Axe put his pen and journal back in his pocket and stood himself, taking one last look at that gorgeous sky before following after you.

"so, what's the goss?"

"Believe it or not, Axe, I've been dating."

"i don't believe it." he joked "you never really seemed like the type?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." you admitted "But I've actually been having a lot of fun."

"oh yeah? tell me, tell me!"

So you do. You started with your meeting in the cafe (although you leave out Red grabbing Anna's ass), told him all about your beach visit ('man, going to the beach sounds good right now...'), and finished up with details of your dates. It took so long to get through it all that you successfully managed to 'get lost', turn around and find your way back to the clinic, with Axe only taking three wrong turns. You entered the lobby as you finished your tale, Axe signing back in at the desk.

"And so dinner was just at his place, but after being in the kitchen all day it was nice not to have to cook." you finished off "We ended up watching lame gameshows on tv and giving really stupid answers. It was kinda fun! Then last night he asked me out to the movies. We caught the last showing of that dumb horror movie, but we were the only ones there so we ended up doing a Mystery Science Theatre and riffing on the whole thing. He nearly lost his mind at 'that's what she said.'"

"old 'un but a good 'un." Axe agreed "sounds like this guy's pretty serious about you."

"Yeah..."

"yeah?"

"Well..."

You stopped in your tracks, picking your words carefully.

"Promise not to judge?"

"of course." Axe agreed, stopping beside you with a concerned expression on his face.

"I am having fun." you insisted "But that's all it is. I mean, I am getting to be fond of him, but nothing's really developing? Like you say, he seems to be pretty serious about me, and it kinda feels like I'm leading him on? And then what about when September comes? He doesn't seem like a long distance kinda guy, but there's no way in hell I'm not going to college, least of all for a man! And then there's... I dunno, I can't even fully explain. Like there's a little voice in the back of my head telling me something's wrong."

Axe nodded along thoughtfully, hands in his pockets.

"well, on the one hand, feelings don't always come at once." he reasoned "but on the other, you've got a pretty solid gut, and if it's telling you something ain't right, it might be worth listening to it."

He shrugged, shaking his head.

"all i can say is talk to him." he suggested "explain how you're feeling, without any of that tsundere crap."

"I am not a tsundere." you pouted.

"yeah you are." Axe teased "but anyway... don't take this the wrong way, but i am really tired."

He looked tired. This was probably the most exercise he'd had in a while, not the mention the mental strain of finding his way back.

"Don't let me stop you." you reassured him "See you next week?"

"absolutely."

Axe yawned, having the good manners to cover his mouth with his hand, when something suddenly occurred to him.  

"heck, i've forgotten his name already." he grumbled.

"Whose?" you asked.

"your fancy man."

"Oh, you didn't forget." you assured, watching the relief wash over his face "I didn't tell you yet."

"ok, lay it on me, i will totally remember." he swore.

"You seem excited." you noted.

"it's all a part of my treatment." he shrugged "retaining new information is pretty exciting!... sad, huh?"

"Not sad at all." you assured "It's Red... or, uh, Sans of the Fell clan."

Axes eyelight extinguished. His face was unreadable. You could tell immediately that something wasn't right.

"Axe?... buddy, you okay?"

"i... yeah..."

His eyelight flickered back on, but he looked incredibly bothered, scratching the bone around the hole in his skull.

"i just... i got a little bell going off. something in my head."

You rubbed his arm supportively, knowing there was little else you could do when he got one of his headaches.

"Maybe sleep would help?" you suggestted "You've done a lot today."

"yeah... maybe..." he agreed, giving you an uncertain look "i'll, uh... i'll see you later."

* * *

 

There was a tantalising aroma in the air as you approached Red and Edges house, and wafting white smoke curling over their roof. Following a hunch, you rounded the house and opened the gate to the back garden, letting yourself in. Sure enough, you spotted Red a few feet from his back porch, beer in one hand as he carefully flipped sausages and burgers. Dressed in tracksuit bottoms and a red wife beater, he looked a lot more rough than you had come to know him to be.

"babe, we're havin' a barbecue!" he declared when he saw you, not even slightly surprised "hope ya like 'dogs.'"

"Dogs, cats, occasionally birds." you joked as you walked over.

"what do ya wanna drink?" Red asked, quirking his head towards the house "we got soda, bottled water, ice tea... i'd offer ya a beer, but i already know what ya'd say." 

"Water sounds pretty good." you thought "I've been walking around in the sun a lot today."

Red put the back of his fingers against you cheek, pulling a face.

"yeah, i can feel it." he said "ya need some aloe or somethin'?"

"It's not that bad." you assured "Nothing a little water won't fix."

With a dissatisfied sigh, Red disappeared, quite literally, reappearing a moment later with an ice-cold bottle of water and a tub of after-sun, handing you both.

"Why do you even have this?" you asked as you inspected the lotion.

"i got my reasons." he replied cryptically, picking up his barbecue tongs.

"It's not even been opened."

"are ya gonna stand there and critique my toiletries, or are you gonna take a load off?" Red asked, pointing to a lounger set in the shade on the grass.

There was a very comfortable looking cushion sat on it. Well, if he insisted... you took a seat. Figuring a little after-sun wouldn't kill you, you took off the seal and started applying it to any exposed skin. Making sure the meats on the grill were cooking nicely, Red pulled the other seat right next to yours and plopped down heavily, stretching (for some reason, since he had no muscles) before taking a swig of his beer.

"so why were ya walkin' around in the sun all day?" he asked "i would'a taken ya wherever ya wanted ta go."

"It was a memory test for my friend Axe." you informed him "His short-term memory is bust, so he gets lost easily."

"axe?" Red repeated, raising a brow bone "skeleton, a bit shorter than me, hole in his head?"

"That's the one. You know him?"

"i'm more surprised that you do." he confessed, looking decidedly unhappy about the fact "how the hell did you two even meet?"

"Sugar and I used to work together at the supermarket." you shrugged "When he was having trouble with his landlord, I told him the house next to mine was empty. The rest is history."

"huh..."

Red took another sip of his beer.

"you see much of those two?" he asked.

"All the time. Shug's is one of my best friends, so I got to know Axe pretty well too. Back when I was just starting out in the kitchen, Sugar and I used to practice together a lot."

"yeah, i bet they'd love to have ya for dinner." Red muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"nothin', cupcake."

Red smiled, but you could tell it was forced.

"yer a hard person ta rattle if ya can look at those two on a regular basis." he thought, somewhat meanly "how are those lunatics these days?"

"Don't call them that." you told him certainly "They're my friends."

His eye twitched.

"sorry, cupcake." he said after a beat "but we didn't exactly get along the few times we met."

You remembered Axe's odd reaction. Them not getting along made perfect sense to you.

"Regardless of how well you may or may not get along, they're still my friends." you repeated "And I won't have you talking shit about them."

"alright." Red relented, holding up his hands in surrender "alright, i'm sorry, i won't say it again."

He took another swig from his beer.

"so what did you guys do today? besides walk around in the sun?"

"Talk, mostly. About you, actually."

"all good things, i hope." he said with a flirtatious wink.

"Well..."

"that's not funny."

You put your hands between your thighs to stop yourself wringing them, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Red.

"We had a talk about what a good time you and I have been having this week." you started "But it kinda got me thinking..."

Red stayed silent, his face a picture of apprehension. If he had skin, his knuckles would have been white with how hard he was gripping his beer. You chose your words carefully - while primarily, you didn't want to hurt his feelings, a close second was the knowledge that you didn't yet know what would set him off.

"Don't get me wrong, you've been great all week, and I like hanging out with you." you went on "But I feel like you're way more invested in this than I am. I mean... I don't want you building your hopes around a future that's not gonna happen?"

"babe, stop," Red chuckled, holding up his hand "it's only been a week."

"And which one of us said they'd make me fall in love by September?" you reminded him.

"oh and i mean it." he assured "but ya ain't the kinda silly kid that falls in love easily. it's one of the things i like about ya."

"Even if I do 'fall in love' by September, which I kinda doubt, I'm still going to college."

"wouldn't expect anythin' else."     

"Well, what will you do then?" you asked "You okay with a long distance relationship?"

"maybe i'll move up ta college with ya." he suggested with a shrug, but the way he said it suggested he'd already made up his mind to do so.

"That's kinda creepy, Red."

"it won't be in september." he swore "cupcake, ya got nothin' ta worry about. just because i believe in love at first sight doesn't mean you have ta. honestly, the worst part of what ya said was callin' our dates 'hanin' out'."

"Love at first sight?" you repeated sceptically

"absolutely." Red confirmed with a smirk "the second ya stormed outta that kitchen like an angry dragon and nearly stabbed me in the hand, i knew ya were the one."

Words failed you. You absolutely didn't believe in love at first sight, or the idea of 'the one' perfect soulmate.

"I really don't know what more I can say." you confessed "I just don't want to 'lead you on', or whatever. I honestly think you'd be better off with someone who's more into the whole romance thing than I am."

Red was silent for a moment, eyeing you thoughtfully. He put his beer on the ground, stood up, and knelt on one knee in front of you. Being as big as he was, he was almost face to face with you, his hand cupping your face. Just as you were starting to seriously worry about what was going on in his head, his other hand went to your waist and pulled you forward, the one on your face keeping you still as he kissed you. 

It was... interesting. Not entirely unpleasant, but having no lips certainly made it a strange experience. His teeth were incredibly sharp, but he had a practised softness to his movements which made you forget about your fragile flesh. Before the kiss got too deep, he backed away, placing his forehead against yours.

"ya worth it." he told you "any effort, any wait. ya worth it all."

"Why though?" the words escaped your lips before you even realise.

Red just smiled.

"because ya you."

* * *

 

It was late at night - so late that it was technically the next day. You and Anna were lounging on her bed, laptop on front of you, watching Bridget Jones Diary for the million and second time. Your sister was rapt, watching with complete attention despite knowing every line by heart, while you were on your phone, texting back and forth with Sugar. Since Anna shushed you every time you made a witty rejoinder, you sent them to your friend instead, who was so amused that he found the movie on netflix so he could play along.

"Hey, you know what a really good romance movie is?" you asked Anna.

"If you say 'Birdemic', I'm kicking you off the bed." she warned.

"That trash? Of course not." you insist "Now, 'Birdemic 2' on the other hand."

The teenager made a frustrated groan, spinning around where she lay and smacking you with the pillow she had been propped up on.

"Awful! Awful and terrible!"

You just laughed, shielding yourself from the less than lethal assault. Suddenly, Anna stopped, looking over your shoulder.

"Oh..."

"Oh?"

You followed her line of sight - the light was on in Axe's bedroom, and a figure was moving about within.

"A... are they home?" Anna asked.

"No." you knew.

You leapt up off the bed, turning off the light in your room and creeping over to the window. Soon enough it became apparent who it was - no one other than Axe himself.

"When did he get out of the hospital?" Anna wandered.

"About two weeks from now."

You pulled open a nearby drawer and grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt, not even noticing it was the hoodie Red had made you.

"You're going over?" Anna fretted.

"If something's wrong, I'm the best person to find out." you reasoned, handing her your phone "Call the clinic, let them know where he is. Hopefully they realise he's gone... text Sugar too."

You opened your bare-bones jewellery box and pulled out the spare key to the house next door, thinking better than climbing through the window. If Axe just wanted to come home for the night - well, he was a patient, not an inmate, all he needed to do was ask, but he would have said so when you saw him earlier. Mindful that everyone else was asleep, you made your way through the house as quietly as possible, locking the front door behind you and jumping over the border fence.

You weren't scared of Axe, but at the same time you didn't want to startle him, so made as much noise as possible as you let yourself into their house.

"Axe?" you called up the stairs "You here, buddy?"

There was a dull clatter upstairs, like a book had been thrown to the ground. The only light was the one in Axe's room. You thundered up the stairs, again trying to make as much noise as possible, before poking your head into his bedroom. Through the window, you could see a concerned Anna on the phone.

Axe was sat on the floor in front of his bookcase, rocking back and forth as he tore through one of his journals. He made a strangled, frustrated noise and threw the journal aside, immediately going for the next one.

"Axe?" you repeated "You okay there?"

Axe spun around. There was an odd smile on his face, one that made your spine crawl, and his eye light was nothing but a pinprick.

"hey buddy." he said "buddy, buddy, buddy, whatcha doin' here?"

"I was gonna ask the same of you." you admit, noting the change in his speech pattern "Why did you leave the clinic? Did something happen?"

"yes." he confessed "but i dunno _what_. or _when_." 

He turned away, going back to his journal. He seemed to decide it wasn't the right one again, as he threw it aside and picked up the next. He was mumbling to himself. He started rocking again.

He was having an episode. Your heart sank - he had been doing _so well_... All you could do now was keep him calm until someone from the clinic showed up to take him back. With a sigh, you walked over, perching on the bed near to where he was sat.

"Okay." you sat "What was the thing? I might be able to help."

Axe stopped rocking, looking at you again. That look on his face was unnerving.

"you trust me, right?" he asked, voice shaking.

"Of course." you assured.

"you gotta stay away from him." he went on "he's bad. he's bad he's bad he's bad he's bad-"

"Who's bad?" you asked, placing a calming hand on his shoulder "C'mon, friend, don't play the pronoun game on me now."

"i don't... i don't..."

Axe looked panicked and confused, eyes darting about as he tried to remember, only to make the frustrated strangled noise once again. Throwing off your hand, he tore off his jacket and t-shirt, spreading his arms to show you his ribs.

You held back a gasp - several of his ribs were broken, shoddily healed almost immediately, but the bright red lines stood out clearly against the white bones and off-grey long-healed scars. On his arm, engraved into the bones in jagged circles as if by an electric drill, was a word - 'red'.

"Axe, who did this to you?" you asked, hardly holding yourself back from throwing your arms around him.

"I dunno." he swore "I dunno, i dunno... i might have done it to myself? i don't remember..."

His whole face crumpled as he started to cry.

"he's bad." he sobbed "he's done terrible things, he _does_ terrible things. i just don't remember!" 

With an almighty shudder through his entire frame, Axe almost collapsed, burying his head in your lap. With nothing else you could do, you gently stroked his head, shushing him like you did Suzy.

"It's okay." you tell him "Everything's okay."

"no! no it isn't!" he insists "it's not safe!"

"Axe..."

"it's not safe... it's not safe..." he repeated, voice muffled by your jeans "safe... safe... safe..."

His whole body stilled, but it hardly filled you with confidence. When he looked back up, his eye light was it's normal size, but that unnerving grin remained as he looked you right in the eye.

"i'll keep you safe." he promised calmly "i'll keep you fed."

You flinched a little when he took you by the shoulders.

"you trust me, right?"

The world disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I just could not get a word out yesterday. Then I slept for twelve hours and woke up with a massive headache, so clearly I needed the rest!
> 
> Back to business, then.


	11. A Return to Horror

You fell to the ground, body recoiling when it came into contact with something cold, wet and deep. You swore loudly and shot back up, jumping to your feet and brushing off as much snow as possible. Why the hell was there snow? It was summer! You looked all around for the one that had bought you here, but Axe was nowhere to be seen. Okay, option 2 - where are you?

A forest. An old, old forest, if the trees were anything to go by, massive and gnarled, canopy blocking out the light and stopping anything else growing on the forest floor. It wasn't night-time dark, but crazy dark, nightmare dark. You were stood on what might once have been a path, winding its way through the trees, but it had been a very long time since anyone but you had trod it. You looked up, but could see nothing - no stars, no moon, not even the sickly orange glow of light pollution. Nothing at all. Even as your eyes adjusted to the dark, you couldn't see anything in the sky.

That's when it struck you. You had seen it in documentaries, photographs in magazines, heard of it in the traumatised whispers of every monster you knew.

You were in the Underground.   

Why would Axe bring you here?

Problem 2 - you lived nowhere near Mt. Ebbott, or any of the other Undergrounds, and a shortcut that big wouldn't have been good for Axe even if he had been in his right mind. You had to find him. Even if you had to drag his boney butt all the way to where the barrier used to be, you would do it. The lack of footsteps gave you pause, but looking down at the snow... you weren't sure if you would know the difference between snow and monster dust. You shook the thought away, hoping for the best, and took stock of your options.

On one side of you was a large door hanging open on only one hinge, battered and broken on both sides, with deep scratch marks of various numbers, some distressingly small, running all over it. Someone, some _thing_ , had tried very hard to get both in and out. The tunnel beyond it was dark - darker than anything you had ever known, making your skin crawl. On the other side of you was forest, and lots of it. Walking through this darkness would be dangerous, but it was your best hope. Some monsters - those who couldn't handle the surface, or the humans - had returned underground. It was considered to be a type of psychosis or Stockholm syndrome, but if you could fine one, they could give you directions to the exit.

Having no better plan, you started to follow the path into the forest, the snow up to your shins making progress difficult. The silence was deafening. No birds, no animals, no wind. It was almost suffocating. The air was old, stale, the stench of pine and standing water all around. You already hated it here - you couldn't imagine what it would be like to be trapped in this place. The breaking of wood caught your attention, and you looked up to see a dead branch fall from a tree, landing heavily on the ground, only to immediately jump back up, snapping in half with the CLANG of rusted metal teeth. A bear trap, hidden under the snow, left there for goodness knows how long.

You looked at the path in front of you with renewed paranoia. The snow was a good foot and a half deep.

Spying a thick, sturdy looking branch by the side of the path, you carefully leaned over and grabbed it, plunging it into the snow in front of you and sweeping it sideways. Nothing in your path. You repeated it for the next step, and the next, and the next. It made your journey significantly slower, but it was better than having your legs broken. The end of your stick hit something, and you carefully traced around it's edges - a perfect circle. You walked around it. You saw several more before you reached the first feature of interest - several wooden columns, with another running along the top, looking like a crude shinto torii gate, rotten and falling apart from years of abandonment.

You froze as you heard footsteps behind you.

"human..."

Knowing the voice, you turned around. Axe stood there with his hands in his pockets, only... you'd never seen that jacket before. It was old, torn, parts of it stained a disturbing brown. His t-shirt wasn't much better. You knew dried blood when you saw it.

"don't ya know how to greet a new pal?" he asked you, taking his hand out of his pocket.

"You and I have known each other a long time." you told him calmly, cutting off his next sentence "Axe, why did you bring us here?"

He looked at you, eye light quivering. 

"who's 'axe'?" he asked, head cocking to the side a little.

Of course, there were no clans before the barriers came down, there would have been no need for such nicknames.

"Sans." you tried again, just as patiently "You're injured, aren't you? We need to get you to a healer."

His eye didn't stray from yours, not even for a second. You felt the way you did when you first met him - vaguely threatened, but for a reason you couldn't put your finger on. It had taken Axe a lot longer to warm up to you than it had Sugar (whose best friend you were after meeting him exactly twice) - but you had done it once, you could do it again if need be.

"what makes you think i'm injured?" he asked.

"You showed me yourself." you told him "Your ribs are broken, and you've got a word carved into your arm."

"what's the word?"

"Red."

There was a flash and a 'whoosh' of wind that blew your hair back. You were aware of something very sharp at the side of your neck.

Stay calm. If you panic, so will he.

So you kept your eyes on his face, ignoring whatever it was he was holding to your throat.

"who are you?" he growled.

You told him your name. His dead eye twitched on hearing it.

"You and S... Papyrus are my friends." you went on "I've known you both for a while. You bought us here. Do you remember why?"

Now he was really struggling. He looked almost pained.

"r... reset?" he asked, voice almost shaking.

"I don't know what you mean by that." you confessed.

He laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound.

"okay." he said "if you know us so well... tell me something."

"You brothers favourite thing to cook is his special spaghetti." you started "But his favourite food is porridge. The one with the sugar dinosaur eggs in. You used to run an illegal hotdog stand from your sentry station. You have a pet rock which you feed sprinkles."

"ya talkin' about food an awful lot." he pointed out with a grimace "kinda cruel, don'tcha think?"

Noted.

"You made Papyrus a costume for a party, and he wore it for weeks." you went on "He even wore it in the shower. You worked for a while as a comedian, before that, you were a scientist."

One of the columns to your side snapped clear in half as whatever Axe was holding was slammed into it, making you flinch. Axe grabbed your hair, twisting his painfully in his hand and pulling you right up to him.

"i don't remember telling ya any of that." he growled.

"Your memory isn't what it used to be. Not since the hole in your skull-"

"and who put it there?" he interrupted, tugging your hair again.

"I don't know." you confessed, wincing, but trying your best not to react otherwise "You never told me. You don't like to talk about it."

He held you there a moment longer, so close you could almost swear you heard him sniffing you.

"heh." he finally said, releasing you "either yer a damn good liar or yer tellin' the truth. paps will know. ya got no problem with that, right?"

"None at all." you confirmed, rubbing the pain from your scalp.

"okay."

Axe grabbed his weapon - suitably, it was an axe, made from a large, crooked bone and what looked like blue ice - and pulled it back out of the column.

"let's go."

He grabbed your hand, spinning you around and leading you further along the pitch black forest path. His grip was just as soft as it normally was, not as rough as his suspicion of you would suggest it would be. He was swaying slightly when he walked - he must be exhausted. He needed to rest before you tried for the exit.

You looked all around as you passed through the forest - trees, darkness, snow and ice. You passed some kind of wooden booth - it was completely dilapidated, the rotten beams holding up the roof having fallen down long ago. The accumulated snow on top of it only made it look sadder. Axe stopped a moment to look at it, his face a picture of confusion, before he shook it off and kept walking. Occasionally he would veer in an odd direction, walk around a clearing rather than through it, and it became clear to you that he remembered where the traps were.

The mind was an amazing thing, picking for itself what to keep and what to throw away. What cruel tricks it played on your friend. 

He didn't let go of your hand until you saw the first sign of civilisation - a sign that read 'Welcome to Snowdin', surrounded by a string of broken lights. Instead, he grabbed you by your upper arm, almost half-carrying you through what was left of the small town. He stopped outside a burnt out building.

"huh..." he said "don't remember that. hope grillbz is okay..."

He side-eyed you, almost as if asking for confirmation. You wracked your brain, thinking if you remembered anything about a 'grillbz'.

"I... he's... a fire elemental, right?"

Axe nodded.

"I've never met him. Apparently he lives in the country."

"'apparently'" he repeated.

He gripped your arm tighter and pulled you away. Finally, he came to the largest building in town - a two story house, more broken fairy lights decorating the gutters, one side of the roof having collapsed. Axe seemed to ignore that little fact, throwing the door open as if he belonged there.

"papyrus?" he called into the dark, still building "ya here, bro?"

Of course he wouldn't be here. Where was Axes mind right now? If that axe in his hand was anything to go by, it was somewhere unpleasant. 

"He'll come home soon enough," you promised, placing a calming hand on his back "Why don't you get some rest? You look tired."

Far more tired than you had ever seen him. He didn't shrug off your hand, if he even felt it, but looked at you in suspicion.

"how do i know you won't run off?" he accused.

You looked around, spying the old sofa against the wall. You were sure there was all sorts of mould growing inside of it's rotten cushions, but right now it was your best option. You led him over there, sitting yourself down before pulling him after, encouraging him to lay down his his head in your lap.

"There, now I can't move without waking you." you assured him.

His face was difficult to read. He pointedly didn't look at you.

"how do i know you won't dust me in my sleep?" he asked.

"Because I promise." you told him, stroking his skull as you had done before "And I know how you feel about promises."

Axe laughed humorlessly, blushing a little. He didn't have long to be embarrassed, as he soon fell asleep. 

* * *

When Sans woke up, it wasn't the pretty humans lap he was sleeping on, but a pillow. He would have thought he imagined the whole thing, if not for the smell of human clinging to him. Pap's still wasn't home. The place was a real mess - sure, it was neat, but it was very dusty, almost like no-one had been there in years. He tried to think why that would be, but 2 and 2 just weren't adding up in his mind. 

He was so tired. Why did his chest hurt?

Groaning in the pain of it, Sans got to his feet. Huh... he was a lot heftier than he remembered. Thanks to Un-DICK and the famine, his pleasant roundness had completely disappeared, leaving him exactly as thin and skeletal with his clothes on as he was without. He still wasn't sure how it worked - how exactly could a skeleton get fat? Well, it had happened. The question was, how? And what was that smell? It was amazing!

He followed the smell to the kitchen, where he found the pretty human. What was their name again? They were at the stove, making something that smelled divine. Sans was honestly surprised - why hadn't they run away? The other humans had sure liked to run. More importantly:

"where did you get that food?"

The human looked around, their beautiful eyes filled with nothing but concern.

...Beautiful?

What was _wrong_ with him?! 

They were a human! They should be nothing but meat to be eaten and a soul to be used, not...! Not... stars above, why did he feel like he was at home whenever he looked at them? More than this house - his house! - they were home.

"Feeling a little better?" the human asked.

"don't ignore my question." he growled.

"One of your neighbours." they told him, wiping their hands on a rag "He said his name was Doggo? He also said to come see him when you're feeling better."

"ok, where'd  _he_ get the food?"

"I didn't ask." they admitted "The shop, I imagine. You'll have to ask him."

"when did the shops reopen?"

"Again, you'll have to ask Doggo." they said "Sit down, this is just about ready."

The human turned back to the stove. They weren't scared at all. Not of him, not of Doggo. Why hadn't Doggo killed them? Why hadn't any other monster, if they had gone walking around alone? He hadn't seen any other monsters earlier...

Why did his chest hurt?

He sat down at the kitchen table, the old seat groaning under him. Why did Papyrus let the house get this bad? He would have died of shame long before it came to this. Before he could think about it too much, a bowl was placed in front of him - it contained a thick soup with meats and vegetables, and it smelled like he imagined heaven did. They gave him a couple of bread rolls as well, sitting down at the table with him.

"Eat up." they bid, picking up their spoon.

The numbers still weren't adding up. Yes, he was hungry, but... not the way he _should_ be. He wasn't so hungry that it made him want to pull on his eyesocket, just so he could feel something other than the gnawing, twisting emptiness... why? If this human was here, alive, why wasn't he hungry?

Why did his chest hurt?

He picked up the spoon, watching the human blow on the hot liquid. He mimicked them, why he wasn't sure, before finally taking a taste. Immediately, he could feel his HP rising, moreso than with regular monster food. He looked at the human again. They weren't a mage, but... this food was imbued with love. In a blink, he had finished it, almost inhaling the rolls. He felt better, his head a bit clearer. Something was up, and he needed to find Papyrus.

Why did his chest hurt?

"thanks for the meal." he muttered as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" the human asked, immediately on their feet as well with worry in those gorgeous eyes.

"lookin' for my bro." he grumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I already spoke to Papyrus." they told him "I used the phone at Doggo's place. He's on his way. We should stay here so he knows where to find us."

The human knew his bro's phone number? If they really were friends, as the human claimed, then wouldn't that make sense? Although...

"ya don't got yer own phone?" he asked.

The human was dressed nicely. Even a schlub like him had his own phone, why didn't the human?

"I... loaned it to my sister." they answered with a sigh "I haven't gotten it back yet."

"heh..."

Somehow, he trusted their words. He didn't know why, couldn't hope to start explaining it. It just felt right.

With a shrug, he went back into the living room and sat down on the sofa. He tried to turn on the tv, but nothing happened, not even static. He was perturbed a moment before the human came back into the living room with him, sitting down beside him and taking his hand.

"Sans?" they asked carefully.

"hm?"

"I need to ask you," they went on "About your ribs. And your arm."

"my ribs?"

Now they mentioned it... his chest did kind of hurt. What was that about his arm?

He shrugged off his coat, looking at his arms. Along with a lot of scars he didn't remember getting, the word 'red' was gouged into his arm. Huh... it looked new. Why 'red'?

Why did his chest hurt?

"Do you remember anything?" the human asked "You said you weren't sure if you did it to yourself. Have you remembered anything else?"

Why 'red'? Why 'red'? Why 'red'?

Why did his chest hurt?

The human sighed out their nose, patting him on the knee.

"I'm going to wash my face," they said "I'll be back."

Why 'red'?

Why did his chest hurt?

Why 'red'? Why 'red'? Why Red? Why Red? Why _Red_?  _Why Red?!_

_Why, Red?_

* * *

 

You had to wait a couple of minutes for the water to run clear. You were lucky to find another monster so close - the dog was practically blind, his senses too overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the surface to remain there long, but he had been happy to share what he had with you once you told him your story. You'd have to send him something nice to thank him. Once the pipes were clear and the water flowed normally, you washed your face, hoping the ice-cold liquid would wake you up.

You were exhausted. You had been walking around in the sun all day, then that barbecue with Red, then staying up late with Anna, now this... you hadn't had a chance to sleep, to really rest. At least Axe was looking better - he had had sleep and a meal, the two major things you knew monsters needed to replenish their magic. As soon as Sugar got there, Axe would be far more manageable, and you could get him back to the clinic and you to bed. Poor Axe... he had _never_ been this bad before. It was like he didn't even know who you were, even when looking right at you. What had happened to cause this?

You had your theories, of course. You didn't buy for a second that Axe had done that to himself - you had never known him to do anything like that before. But who would have done that to him? The word 'red' hadn't escaped you, and you might believe it had been him if you hadn't spent all evening at his place. Besides, you didn't think he was stupid enough to carve his own name into Axe's arm and incriminate himself. However, crossing off those two options left you with nothing to go on. Maybe he had written something in one of his journals that would explain it? Is that why he was going through them so voraciously last night?

You sighed. What the hell were you going to tell Sugar?

"knock knock." came a low voice from the other side of the door.

Axe loved knock-knock jokes. Maybe he was feeling better?

"Who's there?" you called back.

"bone ta pick."

You didn't like where this was going.

"...Bone to pick who?"

The wooden door cracked and splintered as it was struck from the other side, the sharp end of the bone axe breaking through.

"bone to pick with you!" Axe cried.

"What is this, the fucking shining?!" you fired back.

Axe kept attacking the door, swinging his weapon over and over again. Friend or not, you knew better than to stay in this bathroom, immediately looking for the window. You had expected for a while that Axe had a violent past (birds of a feather and all that), but actually seeing it in action was something else. As much as you wanted to support him, you sure as hell didn't want to die.

The window was small - you only just fit through - and it was high off the ground. Below that fresh, powdery snow was permafrost, solid and unyielding, so jumping from the second floor was out of the question. Instead, you climbed up, onto the roof, securing your position just in time as you heard the wood from the bathroom door finally give way. Seconds later, Axe stuck his head out of the window.

"the fuck did ya go?!" he yelled.

You didn't answer, staying silent and still until Axe's head disappeared. You listened carefully - Axe stomped out of the bathroom and down the hall, going down the stairs. You heard the front door slam open, footsteps disappearing down the snowy street.

You couldn't wait for Sugar any more. You needed to calm Axe down, restrain him if necessary, and you needed to do it soon. You couldn't stay on the roof, either - it was cold as hell, and you weren't dressed for it, not to mention you'd be spotted soon enough. Carefully, you crept up, testing your weight on the old tiles, and slowly made your way to the part of the roof that had caved in. You nearly fell once or twice, but you made it, taking a good look at the room below before you jumped, landing in a crouch. You froze, staying silent as you listened for any other sign of movement. Nothing. You tiptoed forward and opened the door, peaking out, but didn't leave yet.

This was definitely Sugar's room, and if Sugar liked one thing, it was accessories. You quickly checked his cupboard - sure enough, there were some scarves and gloves that he had left behind, only taking what he could carry when he left the place. You grabbed whatever, not much caring if they matched or not, and prepared yourself to go back outside. You didn't need to go far - just back to Doggo's house. You would figure the rest out there.

Axe had left the front door open, but you weren't foolish enough to go running out. You checked around carefully, keeping your ears sharp, but heard nothing, before creeping out. Your heart was pounding. Your head hurt. Your entire soul was screaming at you, but you didn't have time to listen to it right now. Of course, had you been less focused on staying aware of your surroundings, it might have occurred to you that listening out for someone who could teleport was probably as waste of time.

"where ya goin', buddy?"

Before you could react, the scarf around your neck was grabbed and yanked back so forcefully that it knocked you from your feet. You let out a startled scream as you fell, unable to find purchase as you were dragged backwards over the ground, _away_ from the house. Axe stopped soon after, and you tried to capitalise on the pause and get to your feet, but the respite was brief, and you were thrown into another building, back slamming against a flimsy wooden wall before you fell to the ground.

God damn, that hurt! But you couldn't stop now, getting back to your knees before you froze once again.

You had seen 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. You had seen an abattoir, back when your father was working in one. You had seen the basement bunkers of paranoid lunatics just waiting for the end of society. This shed was somehow all three, covered in chains, rusty hooks, and stains best left unsubscribed. A rack of knives hung on the wall, completely unusable from years of neglect, and on the other side of the room... a pile of bones, tool marks clear on the picked-clean carcasses. Rib cages, femurs... human skulls...

Your attention was bought back to Axe as he stepped into the shed. There was that horrid smile again, that deranged look in his eye.

"pap's is gonna be sad he missed ya." Axe told you, but his voice was far off "he usually wants to know how ya people get past his, hehe, 'puzzles'."

"You bought me here yourself, Axe." you reminded him "Don't you remember? It was only yesterday!"

Axe tilted his head to the side. What little light there was outside cast his form in silhouette, his one glowing red eye standing out grimly.

"who's 'axe'?"

Instead of waiting for a reply, Axe raised his hand. Your stomach bottomed out as your soul was turned blue, and you were slammed back into the wall, a few more inches off the ground than your toes could reach. You kicked your legs and swung your arms, trying to pry yourself away, but for nought.

"'a' for effort, buddy." Axe joked with a lazy grin "usually humans are just cryin' and screamin' at this point."

"Axe! Sans, please, you know me!" you pleaded with him "We're friends!"

"that's more like it."

Axe took a long look at the knives on the wall, rubbing his chin as if considering which one he wanted to use.

"man, these things are rusty." he thought aloud "gotta take better care of 'em. let's see..."

He picked the knife that was the least rusty - a sharp little bastard, if the glint of the light was anything to go by.

"gotta test it first."

"Sans, you're not yourself right now! Just wait for Sugar to get here, then everything will be okay!"

Stepping over to you, Axe took the gloves and scarf he knew to belong to his brother and put them aside before taking a long, thoughtful look at you.

"disgustin'." he said finally.

"W-what?"

"that thing yer wearing." he pointed at your hoodie "it's disgustin', i hate it."

"I-is this really a time for a f-fashion appraisal?" 

Axe laughed.

"yer right." he chuckled "y'know, yer funny."

Without warning, he grabbed a fistful of your hoodie, yanking it away from you and sliding the knife underneath, tearing straight through the fabric. He didn't stop there, ripping the garment to pieces like it was his worst enemy. You tried not to scream. You really did try. You failed.

"will ya stop?!" Axe yelled at you "i hate that fucking noise! if i head ears, i'd be yankin' 'em off!"

"Axe, please!" you tried again, still trying to push yourself off the wall "Look at me! Look me in the eye! A part of you must remember who I am!"

"not listenin'."

He grabbed your shirt, using the edge of the knife to tear it away. This time it was slow, almost like he was enjoying it.

"ya got a little chub on you." he teased, grabbing your exposed belly "yer gonna taste great."

He ran his hand up your torso. You couldn't help but shudder, tears clouding your vision.

"H-hey..." you called, voice shaking as you tried with all your might not to sob.

That red eye light left your chest and looked up to your face. Your friend was in there somewhere. Maybe he wasn't right now, but he would be, eventually.

"I-it's gonna be okay." you told him, your throat painfully tight "D-Don't b-blame yourself *sob* I-I don't kn-know what happened, but *sob* I'm sorry, a-a-and I f-forgive you." 

With a dull thud, the knife he held was embedded in the butchers table beside you. Axe was grumbling, fiddling with something you couldn't make out in the gloom. A few seconds later, an old gas lantern lit up on the table, the yellow flame the only source of light and warmth in the shed. He picked up his knife again, and you instinctively shrunk away, closing your eyes tight while you braced yourself for the incoming pain.

It didn't come. The light moved closer to your face. Axe's breathing changed, almost gasping, and you opened your eyes. The manic grin was gone, replaced by a horrified grimace. One look in his eye and you knew - your friend was back. He gently called your name.

With a sickening whine, a blinding explosion rocked the shed, blowing away the flimsy, rotten wood. Axe short-cutted you both away, shielding you from the debris on the other side of the house.

"AXE!" a familiar voice roared "GET OUT HERE, YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH!"

Red?! What was he doing here?! How did he even get here?! This was not the time for him to be here!

"don't worry." Axe told you "i'll protect you."

"Axe, I-"

"hey," he interrupted, cupping your face in his hands "i'm sorry-"

"You don't-"

"i do." he insisted "i'll explain everything when we're home, but for right now... right now i just need you to trust me. red isn't the person he wants you to believe he is. _don't trust him_."   

"found ya, you sonofabitch!"

Red had rounded the corner, crimson sweat glistening on his skull. There was a manic glee in his eyes, his smile stuck in an unnatural rigour. Seeing you, however, shirt torn open, fresh tears on your face, his eye lights shrunk to pinpricks.

"babe?" he called quietly "wh... what did he do to ya? did he hurt ya?!"

"Red, I-"

"stay the hell away, red." Axe barked, stepping further in front of you "fuck right off. and whenever you get to the place you go to when you fuck off, fuck off from there as well!"

"don't tell me what to do, ya crazy fuck!" Red spat back "if ya've done what i think ya've done, i'm gonna make so many holes in ya head, yer brother will be usin' ya skull as a colander!"

"Guys!"

"like you have any room to talk, considering what you do for a living!"

"Will you stop?!"

"i'm not the crazy bastard who butchered humans for meat!"

"Please, we have to get Axe back to the hospital!"

There was another barely audible 'ding' as your soul was once again turned blue. By who, you weren't sure, but you were thrown away from the fighting pair. You moved with such speed, you were scared of hitting the ground with the force of a car crash, but you stopped as suddenly as you started. 

"Wha-!"

Your vision was covered by something heavy and black.

"ya got this, bro?" you heard Red call over.

You yelped, flinching as something long and straight hooked behind your knees, and another on your back. With a slight readjustment and a release of your soul to gravity, you were being carried easily. You pulled the item from your face to discover it was a studded leather jacket, and it was Edge holding you. He didn't even look at you, eyes on the feuding pair. He gave his brother a curt nod.

There was that whining again. You looked around and saw... what the hell was that?! A giant animal skull, floating off the ground, with a blinding light building up in its jaw. The blinding light...

"NO!" you yelled, struggling in Edges grip "DON'T!"

The skull fired, the light bleaching the entire area.

"AXE!"

Edges grip didn't budge an inch. Without a word, he turned around and started walking away, past where the shed used to be and toward a hole in the cavern wall.

"Edge, put me down!" you ordered, kicking your legs and pushing against his chest "We have to stop them! We have to get Axe back to the hospital!"

Holy fuck, he was strong! He didn't even react to your struggling. Behind you, beams of light flashed in both directions.  

"AXE! RED! Edge, put me _down_!"

"SANS!"

With the thudding of hurried boots on the ground, skeletal figures started to emerge from the direction Edge walked in. You soul leapt for joy when you saw Sugar, flanked by four or five other skeletons, rushing towards the scene.

"Shug, you have to stop them!" you yelled "They're gonna kill each other!"

Something exploded behind you to punctuate your point. If anything, this only made the others move faster, Sugar nodding grimly at you as he passed.

Edge neither slowed down nor sped up, continuing along his path. You kept fighting him until you reached the surface. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The word 'red' has now lost all meaning... seriously, I had to google it because it just stopped looking right. 
> 
> Got any questions or thoughts you don't want to put in the comments? Come bother me in tumblr @kassymalone


	12. Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, ladles and germs, I'm LOVING the responses from the last couple of chapters :) It's amazing to see how everyone is on Axe's side over Red's. But why did Axe suddenly freak out? What's Red's role in this, if any?
> 
> 'Everything intensifies' indeed...

Your head was pounding, the mixture of stress and exhaustion catching up with you. A warm shower and the fluffiest bathrobe you'd ever seen had done nothing to assuage it. You couldn't sleep, not until you got some answers. Was Axe okay? What the hell was Red playing at, attacking him like that? Sure, they didn't like each other, and from an objective point of view, Axe had kidnapped you, tried to kill you, tore up your clothes... but that wasn't his fault! He wasn't well! Someone attacked him!... Right? Even he admitted he might have done it himself... but you just didn't buy that! But why would Red attack Axe?

Your mind just kept going around in circles. You paced the hotel room, completely on edge. Your entire body ached, but your thoughts just wouldn't stop. Your foster mother had actually cried when you called them, and your foster father didn't seem far behind. They had been so worried - they woke up when Anna started screaming in the middle of the night, having seen you and Axe disappear into thin air. No phone, no wallet, alone with a mentally unstable skeleton in a place unknown... yeah, you understand why they were afraid for you. You left out the details of what happened, assuring them over and over that you were fine, everything was fine, please stop crying, everything's fine, nothing bad happened, you'd be home soon, yes you would, just calm down.

You were lying out your teeth, but you got the impression you weren't the only one. Fed up and anxious, you went to the door of the hotel room and pulled it open. Edge was exactly where he had been before: sat on the floor of the hallway, gangly legs stretched out in front of him, reading a book. He looked up as he heard the door open.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"You mean other than answers to the questions I've asked you about ten times now? And some clothes?"

Edge just sighed, looking back at his book.

"Sans will be here soon." he answered, _again_ "He'll give you answers."

"Why won't you give me answers?!" you cried, crouching down next to him "I know you know!"

From this position, you could see the guilt on his face. What was he hiding? _Why_ was he hiding it? You hadn't exactly asked him the meaning of life!

"My brother is handling it." is all he said.

Frustrated beyond reason, you stood up and went to slam the door in his face, only for him to grab your hand. You looked back, knowing you were glaring, only to find he still wasn't looking at you.

"I..." he started in a small voice "I was worried... about you..."

You didn't snatch your hand away. It wasn't often this pricky pear softened up. You wanted to snap at him, wanted to scold him, but... he looked almost defeated.

"Please let me go, Edge." you said calmly.

He did so, going back to his book. You leaned against the door after you closed it. Why the hell was he standing guard? What was he expecting to happen? Sure, you could send him on some errand and sneak out (in your bathrobe), but then what? You didn't know anyone in Ebbott City, and you didn't have any money to get home by yourself. You could try to find Sugar, but looking for one monster in a city full of them was fruitless, and what if he was still trying to deal with Axe? The last thing you wanted was to add to his stress.

Back to pacing. Fuck, you were tired, and with every moment that passed you were getting more and more pissed off. You should eat, but you couldn't face it. Lacking anything better to do (the idea of watching tv didn't appeal), you started fiddling with with the things on the bureau. This was a fancy ass hotel. What kind of hotel puts ornate glass paperweights in the rooms? Was that Mettaton engraved on the inside? The door handle jiggled.

"-nah, bro, i got this," Red said as he came in, still looking into the hallway "go get yerself some food-"

Damn, Red had some good reflexes, ducking out of the way of the paperweight before you were even sure you threw it. It exploded in a shower of glass when it hit the hall on the other side of the corridor. Red was completely shocked when he looked back at you, eye lights as small as pin pricks.

"Told you." you heard Edge say.

"paps," Red growled "go home or somethin'."

Red was far more wary as he approached this time, keeping his eyes on you as he closed the door behind him. He had a shopping bag in one hand, but you didn't much care what was in it at the moment.

"babe-" he started.

"DO NOT call me 'babe.'" you interrupted, glaring daggers at him "What the hell happened back there?! Why did you attack him?! Is he-"

"why did i attack him?!" Red echoed "are ya serious? do ya have a concussion?!"

"Red-!"

"put yerself in my shoes!" he cried, putting the bag down and looking at you imploringly "some lunatic abducts my mate in the middle of the night, takes 'em half way across the damn country to an underground best described as 'hell on earth', and when i finally catch up with ya, he's got ya trapped in a shed and he's ripped half yer clothes off! how exactly did you expect me to react?!"

"He's not a lunatic!" you argued, ignoring his valid points.

"babe, ya clearly had no idea what he was goin' to do to ya!"

"He was going to _eat me_!"

Well, that stopped Red in his path. He looked honestly shocked.

"ya... ya knew?"

"Of course I knew!" you cried "You think Sugar didn't tell me? That guy can't to shopping without sending me pictures of every single thing he saw!"

"and... ya still... liked them? ya still considered them ya friends?"

"They did what they had to to survive." you said certainly, scoffing and shaking you head "Everyone has this... _sanitised_ idea of what 'survival' really means, like it's all jolly hockey sticks and tightening the belt, but it's _not_... survival is dirty, it's bloody and it's full of decisions you would _never_ make otherwise and a piece of you will _always_ be there, no matter how much time passes or things improve, because it changes you, it changes something inside you so you're always prepared to do whatever it takes to survive again!"

"... we're not talkin' about axe anymore, are we?"

You looked away from him, unable to stand that piteous look on his face, and crossed your arms. You were so angry, so tired, everything was getting mixed up...

"babe... i get it." Red said softly, taking a few steps forward "ya saw a... a kindred spirit in the guy, someone who could understand ya and what ya been through."

"This isn't about me." you said firmly, looking back at him "Axe is sick! He needed help, not to be attacked! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"i was thinkin' that he hurt ya!" he retorted "i was thinkin' that he... that he _did somethin'_ -"  

"Well he didn't!" you interrupted "And if you had _listened_ to me, you would have known that!"

"so he didn't try to murder ya?" Red countered "didn't chase ya around with a goddamn axe, didn't drag ya into his shed of horrors to do god knows what to ya?!"

"He remembered me!"

"for how long?!" he cried "how long until he lost it again?! how long before his switch flipped and ya ended up bein' breakfast, lunch and dinner?"

"Red-!"

"babe!" he interrupted, grabbing your upper arms (when did he get that close?) "i get it! i do! ya want to see the best in the guy, and i admire that, but you gotta face the truth! axe is insane! between the bonk on the head and the stuff he had to do... babe, his last screw fell out a long time ago, and yer just puttin' yerself in danger thinkin' he's anythin' other that _nuts_."  

"You're wrong." you said certainly "Someone attacked him, and that triggered his trauma!"

"cupcake," Red winced "he did that to himself. The doc's at the clinic got him on camera, carvin' somethin' in his own arm."

"He-!"

They got it on camera? They could prove he did it to himself? That... didn't sound like Axe...

Seeing your moment of uncertainty, Red pulled you into his arms, holding you in a firm, but gentle embrace. He stroked your hair, shushing you gently. God, when did you start crying? Your knees were jelly, and it was getting hard to keep your eyes open.

"yer exhausted." he said softly "i can't imagine... get some rest, cupcake, everythin' will be clearer tomorrow."

You didn't have it in you to argue any more, suddenly completely drained. You didn't even know any more. Sleep sounded good.

Making sure you could stand unaided, Red went over to the bed and pulled back the plush covers, fluffing the pillows before guiding you over. You didn't fight him in lying down, letting him pull the covers back and tuck you in.

"sleep well, cupcake." he bid, giving you a skeleton kiss on the forehead "i'm gonna be right over here, okay?"

Red disappeared from your view, drawing the curtains and turning off the overhead light. You heard him sit heavily in the chair beside the bed, sighing to himself, before you slipped into peaceful oblivion.

* * *

 

Wing

I don't understand your hesitation.

Now seems like the perfect opportunity.

 

You

trust me, bro, now's not the time.

too many of the wrong people are playing attention.

 

Wing

Time is running out, and so is my patience.

How does this SNAFU affect your little plan?

 

You 

what makes you think this wasn't part of it?

 

_Wing is typing..._

 

* * *

 

The sun was shining bright when you finally woke up. You still had a bit of a headache, and now you were ravenous, like you hadn't eaten in a solid week. Your whole body hurt. Why couldn't you just go back to sleep? For one, you needed the bathroom, and that seemed like good enough reason to drag yourself up. Just as you threw the covers back, a loud snore caught your attention, making you flinch.

Red was still sat in the same chair as before, dead to the world, a bit of red drool hanging from his mouth as he snored. You felt... you felt a lot of things. You put them aside for now. Spying the plastic bag Red had bought with him, you walked over as quietly as possible to take it. You didn't feel like waking Red up and dealing with... _any_ of it right now. You would deal with it. You had to at some point, but that wasn't now. 

You took the bag into the bathroom with you, locking the door. As you suspected, there were clothes inside, and a few human toiletries. You'd... you'd have to thank him. It can't have been easy to find them in Ebbott City. Pulling out the red fabric, you immediately reconsidered thanking him - a flimsy wrap-around red dress, the skirt of which didn't even go to your knees, and underwear far lacier than anything you would buy yourself.

You were definitely going to hit him.

Better than a bathrobe, anyway.

Just.

Once you were dressed, teeth and hair brushed, you put on the stupid strappy heels that were in the bag and left, leaving a brief note for the still sleeping Red.

You didn't know where you were going, but it didn't really matter - you needed air, and to not be in that room any more. 

No-one stopped you walking out of the hotel, but the monster at the reception desk wished you a nice day. It was warm - a shock to your body after being stuck in the snow underground - with a pleasant breeze as you picked a direction and started walking. You had spent so long thinking that your brain refused to do it any more, leaving you in complete mental silence. In this state of fraught tranquillity, you could appreciate how clean the streets were, almost completely free of litter, how nice the buildings looked when not covered in graffiti, how non-threatening all the monsters looked and acted. You weren't used to cities like this. You expected to have to look out for pickpockets or muggers or... hell, even traffic, but the few monsters that were driving were taking it slow.

You kept walking, finding a nice park. On the green expanse of grass and trees, children - both monster and human - were playing games, families were having picnics and lovers strolled hand-in-hand. At the far side of the grass, a skeleton in a blue hoodie was selling hotdogs from a booth, and a few steps away a blue rabbit was selling ice cream. You found a bench in a shady area and sat down, just watching the world for a while.

"Knock knock."

You startled, not even realising you had been zoning out, and looked to the voice. A very unfamiliar face smiled apprehensively at you, clutching a phone in one hand.

"Hey, handsome." you greeted.

"You're supposed to say 'who's there'." Sugar pointed out.

"I can see who's there." you said "How did you know where I was?"

Sugar pointed across the park to the hotdog stand, where the skeleton in the blue jacket was very pointedly looking at you.

"On of my cousins." Sugar told you "He called me when he recognised you. He's Creampuff's brother."

"Small world." you pondered.

"Small city."

Sugar sat down next to you slowly, as if sudden movement would scare you off. It hurt you that he sat on the furthest side of the bench, but you allowed him the space. There was silence for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"I'm sorry about-"

"Is Axe okay-?"

You both stopped, laughing a little that you were talking over each other. Sugar scooted a little closer. While he was still wheezing, it wasn't nearly as bad as before, and he no longer rattled.

"Axe is... stable." he told you "They had to sedate him. He's pretty much a vegetable right now."

"Shug, I'm so sorry-" you began, placing a hand on his arm.

"No, I'm sorry." he interrupted, putting his hand over yours and turning his body towards you "I can't believe he did this. It's like the past five years of progress didn't even happen. Was it because I left? He knew I was coming back!"

"You can't blame yourself, Sugar." you said certainly "I spoke to Axe earlier that day, and he was fine! We even took a walk, he drew some pictures, we talked... he was doing well."

"I just don't understand what happened..."

"Did he tell you anything?"

Sugar just shook his head, playing with your fingers a little.

"The doctor said... he said that going back to Snowdin exacerbated the trauma, that without the signifiers of his new life around him, his brain couldn't connect the dots. He literally couldn't pull himself out of those memories."

"But he did remember me." you insisted "Eventually. When he saw my face in a good enough light."

Sugar looked pained, sighing through his nose.

"Why did he even take you there?" he asked you "Please, anything you can tell me..."

You told Sugar the whole story - your walk in the park, what you talked about, Axe's reaction to it. The way he showed up in the middle of the night with broken ribs, the creepy things he said to you... everything.

"Does it mean anything to you?" you finished "Red's admitted that they don't get along, but can you think of any reason they'd attack each other?"

Sugar thought carefully, but shook his head.

"Both cousin Red and Axe have difficulty getting along with others." he admitted "But they've never been violent with each other like this... I don't understand what Axe thought he was protecting you from, or why he felt he could do it in Snowdin, of all places. I don't understand why he didn't call me..."

Sugar leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"Maybe he is crazy..."

"You can't think that way!" you insisted "You should have seen him before! It was like there was nothing wrong with him!"

"And then he breaks his own ribs and carves into his bone with an electric engraver." Sugar finished.

"Why does everybody say that he did it to himself?"

"Because he did." he almost whispered "I called the doctors at the clinic - they had to pry the engraver from his hand. He kept saying..."

He sighed, large hands rubbing over his skull and knocking his glasses a little.

"According to the doctors, he kept saying that he didn't want to forget, so he wrote it in a place he'd always see it..."

Tears were quickly building in his eyes, and you felt your own vision start to haze. You put your arms around him as far as you could, and he immediately wrapped you up in his.

"I-I d-don't know w-what to do anymore!" Sugar sobbed "I don't know h-h-how to help h-him!"

Neither did you. All you could do was hold your friend and let him cry.

* * *

The train between Ebbott City and your home was about a 5 hour journey. Sugar insisted on paying for your ticket, but was shot down by Red. Under the circumstances, it was better for Sugar to stay here, close to where his brother was currently... staying. He promised to send you money to ship some of their things to them. You logically accepted his reasons, but it physically hurt thinking that your friends probably weren't ever coming back. He promised to keep in touch - the train wasn't five minutes out of the station when you got his first message - but knowing you wouldn't see him face-to-face for a long time left you feeling incredibly lonely.

You were still mad at Red and Edge, hardly saying a word to them the entire way back. They ended up bickering amongst themselves about peanuts, and whose turn it was to take the rubbish out. You just stared out the window.

Your parents met you at the station, both of them throwing their arms around you like it had been years since they last saw you, rather than a couple of days. Your foster father shook Red's hand, thanking him for going to 'rescue' you. He even offered them a ride home, but since you were half way down the car park already without so much as a 'goodbye', the skeletons thought better of it. Anna and Suzy started crying and hugging you the second you got home, the toddler not even knowing why, but all you wanted to do was go upstairs and change out of this stupid fucking dress. 

"Wow, this is really nice!" Anna disagreed, holding the dress in front of her and posing in the mirror "You looked really good in it. Did you thank Red for buying it for you?"

"No." you grumbled.

Anna gave you a look.

"Geez, the way you're going on, you'd think it was Red that kidnapped you. He saved you, y'know? The least you could do is be a little bit grateful."

You sat up on your bed, giving her a look right back.

"Did he, though?" you asked "Something's just not adding up here."

"For fucks sake!" Anna cried, startling you a little.

With an exasperated huff, she threw the dress down on her bed and walked over to you, grabbing you hands.

"I get it!" she said "Your dad fucked you up! He taught you to not trust anyone, to second guess everything, to believe that everyone was violent and selfish and out to stab you in the back! And now you've gone through a traumatic experience, your brain is going right back to that thinking as some kind of coping mechanism, but..."

One of her hands cupped your face, looking imploringly into your eyes as she said your name.

"Most of the time, things are exactly what they seem to be." she insisted "Axe was just crazier than we thought, and Red is just an awkward guy who really likes you."

"But there's so much that doesn't make sense!" you insisted back.

"Is there?" she asked "Or are you looking for there to be? Are you looking for there to be more because that's just how you understand the world?"

She shuffled closer to you, putting her hands on your shoulders.

"I'm your sister, and I love you." she said "I don't want to see you end up crazy like Axe. You remember when you were in therapy, when you first came to live with us?"

"Of course-"

"And what was it the therapist said? The simplest-"

"The simplest answers are usually the right ones." you recalled, voice low.

"So what's more likely? That we all just misjudged how crazy Axe is, or that Red is up to some kind of clandestine plot to... to do _something?_  Get you to like him, I guess."    

You couldn't answer. You knew she was making sense, and you hated it. The little voice in the back of your head insisted there was something more. You were startled back to the here and now as Anna kissed you on the forehead as she stood up.

"She didn't want to bring it up today, but... mum's made you an appointment with your old therapist, to make sure what happened doesn't become another 'issue'. Promise me you'll go?"

"Anna-"

"Promise me." she said more forcefully.

She looked so concerned. You knew her words were coming form a place of love and... maybe she was right.

"Alright," you conceded "I promise." 

She smiled at you, squeezing your shoulder before she went to bed. You laid back down, staring at the wall. 

Was she right?

* * *

 

 

You

you don't believe me?

 

Wing

Let's just say you've been wrong in the past.

 

You

you wound me

tell you what - come see for yourself

if you still think i'm wrong, we'll do it your way

spoilers: i'm not wrong

 

Wing

Ha.

Alright, Sans. Have it your way.

Next week.

I look forward to meeting her.


	13. Dancing by Gaslight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW WARNING!  
> So after some consideration, I've decided not to write any out-and-out smut in this fic. HOWEVER, this chapter is going to contain some very overt implications and raciness. 
> 
> Those of you who choose not to read that kind of thing, you'll be fine to read up to the paragraph that begins 'And that's how he ended up here'. (It's bold so it's easy to see) If you want to skip the entire chapter, you'll find a summary of the important stuff at the bottom.

The human city was a dirty place. Red had always thought so, but after spending a little time in Ebbott city, the grime and smell was even harder to ignore. He tried not to scrunch up his face as he walked down the dark alley, but it was a battle he was losing. Paps had told him many times of the unbearable heat in the Second Chance kitchen, and how you kept the door open so you didn't boil to death in your own skin. It was the only real light in this drab corner of the world, a tungsten lighthouse tucked between dumpsters, garbage, and rats of many species. 

And there you were, sitting on the concrete step, stripped down to your vest to cool off. You didn't look like you had been sleeping well.  If you had been a smoker, he was sure there would be numerous butts at your feet. Even stressed and tired, you were a vision of perfection in his eyes, Venus and Madonna combined, nature and all it's fury, beautiful and terrible and as unpredictable as the ocean. Remembering that last point, he slowed his steps. 

He really hadn't been expecting you to throw that paperweight at him - you had a hell of an arm! - but you had calmed down eventually. He had to be very, very careful about his next step: one wrong move and you'd bolt, and then he'd have to do something he didn't want to. But if everything went to plan? Axe and Sugar were gone, your band mates had their own expiry date soon enough, and your family now thought Red was the bee's knees. You'd have no-one else but him. He'd be your everything, just like you were his.  

You spotted him coming, but he wasn't exactly trying to hide. The way the flesh of your cheek squished and puffed at you rested it on your fist fascinated him. The look in your eyes, so tired but so aware, with a hint of something savage buried deep within their blackest parts, made it so hard not to whisk you away right now, lock you up some place the world would never be able to see you. But he couldn't do that - you would only try to escape. He had to convince you to get in the cage yourself.

"how ya feelin', babe?" he asked.

You didn't answer right away, just staring up at him with those eyes. After a moment, you shuffled to the side, patting the concrete steps beside you in an invitation to sit. Red took it, the concrete oddly cold and uncomfortable under his bones. Again, you didn't say anything for a long time, but if Red was anything, he was patient.

"Did I ever tell you about my father?" you eventually asked, looking at something on the other side of the alley.

"yer dad? he seems like a nice guy."

"Not him." you said immediately "I mean my biological father."

"oh." Red scratched the back of his head "i didn't know ya were adopted."

"Fostered."

"what's the difference?"

"Paperwork, I think."

Red snorted. If you could joke, it couldn't be all bad.

"nah, cupcake, ya never told me about him." he confirmed "what's he like?"

Your head tilted to the side, your hair falling with it. The way you clipped it all back when you cooked might not be fashionable, but it suited you - he could see your whole face this way, nothing hidden from view.

"He's a criminal." you began "Industrial sabotage, environmental terrorism, weapons smuggling... you name it, he's done it. He lives off-grid with a basement full of weapons and explosives and a bunker full of canned food and bottled water. He's, uh... he's not a great person. A wonderful father, though - taught me everything he knew. Like how to gut and skin a rabbit, or what part of the sewer to plant a bomb in to flood a residential area with faeces."

Red grimaced just at the mental image.

"My dad... he never trusted anyone. Even if he liked them, he never trusted them." you went on "But the only people he knew were people just like him - paranoid, violent men who couldn't be trusted. Everyone had hidden agendas and secrets and only looked out for their own interests. I thought that's just how life was. Violent, untrusting, always trying to out guess each others true motivations for doing things."

You finally looked at him, but he had the good sense to stay quiet.

"When I first moved in with my foster family, I second guessed every single thing they did and said. When I started at a real school, I didn't believe that people actually wanted to be my friends. It wasn't something I had any concept of, like... why are they being nice to me? What do they want? Why won't they just say it?... it took a long time and a lot of therapy for me to accept that my foster parents genuinely wanted what was best for me, because they cared about me. Nothing more complicated than that. No hidden motives."

You sighed, running your hand through your hair.

"You were right before." you admitted, looking at your shoes "I did want to wear that bikini. I thought it was cute, and I wanted to be cute too, but... it's been programmed in me that I should never show weakness, and if I wore that, people could see I wasn't armed and would try to attack me, or some man would try to rape me, or... or lots of things. The first time I went on stage I was so scared not because of stage fright, but because I was such an easy target. Getting up on that stage... it was part of my defiance. My rejection of the way my dad saw the world. I want to believe people are good."

You finally looked back at him. Your ears had gone red, the blush spreading slowly towards your nose. Sweet holy hell, you were adorable.

"I want to believe that things are the way they seem." you confessed "I want to believe in love, in _falling_ in love. The idea of falling so madly, deeply in obsession that it changes everything... I want to believe the things you say to me. I want to believe I can be adored, that someone can just look at me and think 'out of everyone in the world, you're the one I pick'... God knows I feel love. Sometimes I feel it so strongly, it hurts - my foster family, my friends... but I always hear the voice in the back of my head tell me that it's not all it seems, that the penny's just waiting to drop, that I can't trust anyone, especially those that try to get close to me."

You leaned forward, putting your head in your hands. Red had to stop himself wrapping his arms around you. You were so close to where he wanted you to be.

"The simplest solution is usually the correct one." you said, barely above a whisper "Axe just... needed more help than we were capable of giving him. You really did come to rescue to me, it'd not all part of some plot..."

You took a moment, the tension clear in your muscles.

"I'm sorry." you said "And thank you... for trying to help me. For trying to be there for me. Sorry I wasn't more grateful."

That was his cue.

Red put his hand gently on your back, encouraging you to look up at him.

"ya been through a lot." he said quietly "hearin' about yer old man... it sure explains a lot. i'm glad ya told me."

He buried his face in your hair, pressing his teeth to your scalp in a skeleton kiss.

"cupcake... ya wanna believe in love? lemme show ya how it works, step by step, every day. ya wanna be adored? babe, i'd worship ya if yer let me. i'll drown out that voice tellin' ya this ain't real, that there's somethin' bad comin' yer way. nothin' will ever hurt ya again."

He pulled away, just enough to look you in the eyes. You were ready to cry. Beautiful, stubborn, fragile you... 

"i'm sorry about axe." he said "i know he was yer friend."

And there were the tears. You tried heroically not to sob, but were losing the battle. Red opened his arms wide, inviting you in.

"c'mere." he bid "lemme spoil ya. lemme protect ya. lemme surround ya with love so sure, ya never gonna doubt it again."

Your last thread of resistance snapped, and you practically dived into his arms, crying and sobbing against his chest. He wrapped his arms around you greedily, taking in your feel, your scent, the sweet melody of your voice.

His.

All his.

* * *

Red wasn't lying when he promised to spoil you: holding your hand everywhere you both went, wrapping his arms around you at every opportunity, showering you with little kisses on any part of your body that wasn't being used for something else... He became intimately familiar with the taste of your flesh, exactly how much squeeze your body had before you would squirm, all the things he could only dream about when forced to watch you wantingly from afar. He made his presence a permanent fixture in your life - walking around the supermarket together, taking Suzy to the play park, escorting you home or to his place to cook you dinner after work, anything that was normal and safe and made you happy. 

He was more than generous with his presents, too - nothing expensive, that wouldn't impress you - but stuff that meant something. A custom made set of chef's linens, reinforced with magic to make sure you wouldn't get burned? A winner. The last few books you needed for your college course? Still expensive, thieving bastards, but you were so happy you hugged him. A classic red satin cocktail dress for your final performance with your band, tailored to your exact measurements? (A lounge act! He couldn't wait.) The fact that his hands got to linger on your body as he took your measurements, dragging out the process as long as possible, the way your ears had gone red as your body temperature rose, was just a plus to him.

 **And that's how he ended up here.**  Lying next to your sleeping form, both as naked as the day you were born. Red was right - you had _melted_ under him, you had screamed his name, you had clung to his bones so tightly he thought they might break. There was no nectar as sweet as the one between your thighs, no song written as heavenly as the sound of your moan, and you were so warm, so soft, and you had begged him, _begged_ him for more. He was happy to oblige, to give in to your every demand. He would drown you in his love, until it and him was all you could see.

He traced his phalanges over your sleeping body, just gently enough not to wake you up.

His.

All of you.

His plan was almost complete. The final step was the most dangerous, but after that, finally, he'd get his happy ending.

He just needed to wait for Wing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is in Red's POV. He goes to the Second Chance to talk to the reader, where they tell him about their biological father and the effect his 'training' had on them. The reader admits they want to fall in love, and to believe that Red's feelings are genuine.  
> Red takes the opportunity to smother the reader with affection and gifts. They end up sleeping together, but Red admits his plan isn't finished yet.


	14. Wing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I GOT FRICKIN [FANART](https://asimplesmutpeddler.tumblr.com/post/183348025630/getting-back-in-to-inking-after-a-long) PEOPLE!!!!!!!

Fuck summer. Fuck this heat, this was some bullshit. How the hell had Anna managed to fall asleep? You'd been tossing and turning for hours, but sleep was no closer now than it was during the midday lunch rush. Finally deciding that you may as well get up, you threw the covers back, heaved and almighty sigh, and hauled yourself out of bed. Despite being jealous of their slumber, you didn't want to wake Anna and Suzy, so grabbed one of your new textbooks and went downstairs.

You were surprised to see the light in the kitchen was on, the sound of the boiling kettle just audible. You hoped there was enough water for two.

"Hey, stranger." you greeted, voice a little hoarse from disuse and dehydration, as you spotted Miles at the counter "Long time no see."

"Didn't wake you, did I?" he said apologetically, but you shook your head.

"Couldn't sleep. You? Have you even gone to bed yet?"

"No. You want coffee?"

"Please."

You sat down at the table, and started to flick through your textbook to find where you left off. After a few minutes, a piping hot coffee was put on the table before you, Miles taking his seat. For a little while, you said nothing, comfortable in your familial silence.

"You look tired." you told him "Are you getting proper rest?"

"It's a busy time. We've been doing a lot of raids, and we're very close to cornering a very big fish."

"How big?"

Miles sipped his coffee before answering. You knew he was picking his words, deciding what was and wasn't classified.

"You've heard of 'echo', right?"

"Of course I have." you admitted "I've seen what it does to people."

"You ever try it?"

"Drugs aren't my thing."

And even if they had been, you sure as hell wouldn't have touched echo - it was worse for you than meth and more addictive than cocaine. A drug for rich idiots and junkies who couldn't get high off anything else any more.

"Glad to hear it. Well, we finally found the guy who invented the damn stuff."

"No way." you gasped.

"The madman fancies himself a scientist, if you can believe that." Miles sighed "It took us fifteen years just to find out this guys name, tracking him down has been... well, I don't have to tell you know men like this are."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Honestly? You probably could, if you were in the unit. As it stands, no, but thanks. Bastards smart, though, catching up to him hasn't been easy."

"You'll get him." you were sure "Keep up the good work, officer."

"Thanks." Miles laughed "What about you? How's things going with Red?"

"They're fine."

"Fine?" Miles echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"I just..."

You fiddled with your textbook, trying to find a good way to explain how you were feeling.

"I guess I'll just have to get used to the little voice in my head telling me something's wrong. Red's been nothing short of a perfect gentleman, and a great boyfriend, but I still... There's still that paranoia, y'know?"

"Sounds awful." he sympathised "But hey - only a couple more weeks until college. You started packing yet?"

"Bits and pieces." you confirmed "My time is in high demand at the moment. Our last gig is this week."

"I'm sorry I can't be there."

"You can see it on youtube."

"Yeah..." Miles laughed humorlessly "Story of my life at the moment."

He finished his coffee, dropping his mug back in the sink before stretching.

"Gotta grab a shower before everyone else wakes up." he said on his way out the room, ruffling you hair as he walked past "Let me know what day you're going to college, I wanna drive you myself."

"I'll hold you to that." you warned.

Miles laughed, giving a weary sigh before heading upstairs.

* * *

It was late. You'd been flying solo today, and your whole body was aching. Bring on the end of summer, let the bastard die and take this godforsaken heat with it. You looked at the sink full of washing up water longingly - it had gone tepid a while ago, and was now the coldest thing in the room, unless you wanted to clear a shelf for yourself in the fridge.

You had considered it. 

"Order in!" Anna called from the service window.

She stayed to hand you the order, knowing smile on her face.

"One order of super spicy wings, triple size, one beef brisket sandwich with the house special mustard, and one plate of lasagne." she relayed "Special requirement, and I quote - 'get it right this time.'"

"Tell Edge he's got no life." you joked "He's got nothing better to do than coming into work on his day off?"

Anna burst out laughing - you'd been right on the money. As you were cooking, the manager closed up the rest of the cafe, meaning the skeleton brothers were the only ones in the dining area. You could hear Anna and Edge laughing, making you a little jealous that you were stuck here alone. You threw the pots and pans into the water to soak before taking the food out yourself, backing up into the door and swinging around.

You were surprised to see a third skeleton sat at the table between the brothers: he was tall, but not as tall as Edge, with a dour expression and deep purple eyes. There were cracks running up and down his face and holes in the palms of his large hands. He smiled as Edge cracked a joke, but the expression was muted compared to the more energetic skeletons, which matched his more elegant, professional attire.

"Order up." you called by way of greeting.

"babe!" Red called happily "i want ya to meet someone - this here is my older brother, wing. he's come to visit for a couple of days."

Having put the plates on the table (surprisingly, the sandwich had been for Wing), you extended your hand to the new skeleton, telling him your name. With that same gentle smile, he shook your hand, then turned it over and pressed his teeth to the back of your fingers.

"Charmed, my dear." he greeted in a quiet voice that suggested he smoked ten packs a day "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope." you replied as you took your hand back.

"Naturally. If you're done in the kitchen, won't you sit with us?"

Red immediately pulled the chair out beside him, smiling at you. The second you sat down, he pulled the chair right up next to his, putting one arm around you while he ate his chicken wings with the other. Wing just laughed at the sight.

"You'll have to forgive my brother." he said "He's always been greedy."

"have not." Red argued indignantly.

"He used to order the entire menu." you admitted to Wing.

He didn't even look surprised, just shaking his head knowingly.

"don't gotta anymore." Red said smugly, giving you a squeeze "i get my love straight from the source now."

"Don't even think about kissing me with that sauce on your mouth." you warned him.

That made Wing laugh, a raspy, anaemic sound. Next to him, Edge let out a frustrated groan.

"This lasagne still sucks!" he cried.

"Still ate it." you noted.

"I had to see if you had taken any of my teachings to heart!" he insisted, banging the table with his fist "I see there's still more work to be done!"

You just chuckled, turning to the eldest brother.

"Hey Wing, you see that dent in the wall there?"

Wing looked to where you were pointing, smiling when he saw it.

"Edge made that by throwing a saucepan at the wall. His butter sauce just kept burning-"

Edge screeched your name indignantly while Anna and Red burst out laughing, Wings chuckling behind his hand.

"Oh my dear, you are a riot." he complimented "I'm so glad my brother has found himself such a spirited mate."

The conversation continued, light and friendly, until everyone had finished eating, the manager closing up in the background.

"So how long will you be in town, Wing?" you asked.

"Until Sunday." he told you "I do hope you and I will be able to spend a little time together."

"We should all do something together!" Anna declared "Like...! Like..."

"bowlin'?" Red suggested.

"Weight lifting!" was Edge's idea "Competitively!"

"Paintball!" Anna thought.

"I think we should let Wing decide." you finished "Since he's the guest."

You weren't being as diplomatic as it seemed - whoever you sided with, the others were going to sulk, and you weren't up for that nonsense.

"I must say, I've never tried paintball." Wing confessed, looking at Anna "It sounds like fun."

"Yay!" Anna cried victoriously "I've always wanted to go paintballing, but we never had a big enough team!"

"hey."

Hearing Red whisper in your ear, you leaned in a little, keeping your eyes on Edge boasting to Anna how he was going to win.

"ya stayin' over tonight?" Red asked.

"Maybe. Haven't decided."

"hmm. was thinking of taking a bath tonight."

"So?"

"so~" he said teasingly "there's room in the tub for two."

Red ducked as his brother threw a fork at him, making Anna and Wing laugh.

* * *

 

The rules for paintball were simple - keep your helmet on and don't aim for the crotch. The gun was distractingly unbalanced in your hands compared to the firearms you'd handled before, not to mention flimsy, but it's not like you were going to war. You'd be lying if you said you didn't have your concerns about having a firearm in your hand again, but the bright colours of the paint pellets were helping you distance yourself from your previous experiences. Everyone had agreed that if it got too much for you, you could bow out. The teams were unbalanced anyway, since there were five of you, so you had agreed to switch up the teams between rounds.

"Dibs!" Anna cried as you reached your designated play area, a series of wooden structures deep within the woods "Let's go!"

She grabbed your hand, pulling you to one side of the arena.

"Humans against monsters, huh?" Edge barked "I see how it is!"

"Human's nothing!" Anna laughed back "I just want to win!"

"Ha! As if!"

The skeletons headed to the other side, Wing looking decidedly uncomfortable in the casual old clothes and boots he'd borrowed from Edge. Is this really something he wanted to do, or did he just agree to it to keep Anna, and by extension you, happy? He seemed like the kind of guy who would be much happier checking out artisan tea shops or rare book hunting - the expression on his face told you he didn't expect to have any fun today.

"Don't be angry when you lose!" Edge called across the gap "It's just fun between friends!"

Two minutes and three head shots later, the round was over. The look on Edge's face was priceless, like his whole world had been turned upside down. Wing actually had to take his helmet off to inspect where you got him, he was so surprised. Red had already seen you shoot back at your first date, so was expecting it a little more than his brothers. Anna, who hadn't moved since the round had begun, whooped in victory.

"Don't be angry." you told Edge "It's just fun between friends."

If looks could kill, you'd be worm food for the way he glared at you.

"Jokes on you." he retorted "I want you on my team next!"

Now that they knew you weren't a pushover, the skeletons started to take the game seriously. Red cheated at every opportunity, of course, short-cutting across the play area to get a better shot, but he was also incredibly predictable, so you were able to get him anyway. Anna couldn't aim for toffee, but she was quick, darting between cover to avoid the paint pellets coming at her: she was having so much fun it infected everyone else, so soon everyone was smiling regardless of how much paint they were wearing.

You and Edge made a lethal team - between his army training and your... well, between you, you were able to get the drop on the other three, using hand signals and ghosting your way around the obstacles so your opponents only knew where you were when the paint hit them. Red's methods were a little different - find a good sniping point and wait for the other team to come to you, shortcut if spotted, so that round was more like a hide and seek game.

You stopped for lunch after a while, winded and nursing bruises, wiping paint and plant matter off just about everywhere. Red laughed as he pulled leaves from your hair, kissing you every other second until Edge yelled at him again.

"Let's spice things up a little." Wing suggested once he had finished his sandwich "Since the next round will be the last one."

"What did you have in mind?" Anna asked excitedly.

"I don't think we're making full use of the play area." he went on "We should take, say, ten minutes to stake out a territory, then defend that territory. The team that can either take over the territory or defeat everyone on the other team wins."

"I like it!" Edge agreed.

"Like base defence!" Anna joined.

"My dear," Wing turned to you "I do believe you and I are the last ones not matched up. Do you mind this change so late in the game?"

"Could be fun." you said with a shrug "I look forward to working with you."

It turned out Wing had a plan - one which he'd been putting together since round one. While Anna, Red and Edge prepared their own base, Wing gathered up many fallen branches and snapped a few leafy ones from the trees around you.

"We're going to force them into a bottleneck." he told you "Between that bush there and the climbing frame to the side."

"That will work with Edge, but Anna can fit under the frame." you knew "Hand me two of those branches."

He did so, and you went over to the frame, pulling your laces out of your shoes and tying the branches at shin-hitting level. Anna could either risk falling on her face, or go through the bottleneck with Edge. Wing set up some rather crafty psychological buffers - a large branch here, an impassable log there, using the features that were already in the play area to create invisible walls they wouldn't even realise were there.

"How are we going to get Red?" you wondered "I don't think he's going to leave the base if he can help it."

"You're very correct." Wing agreed "So we're going to use his weakness against him."

"His weakness?"

Wing just smiled.

When the round began, Edge and Anna left their base, just as predicted, and headed for yours. Wing's buffers worked like a charm, blending in perfectly with what was already in the forest around them and herding them where you wanted them to go. Wing perched silently behind a wooden wall, gun ready, and when he had both of them in his sights, nodded to you. You nodded back before creeping along the branch to the next tree, then the next, until you could drop to the ground behind the other team and head for their base. Behind you, you heard Edge's frustrated scream as he was shot, followed by Anna's.

You reached the no-mans land, keeping your eyes up looking for Red hiding in the trees, when you caught your foot on a branch and hit the dirt, twisting your ankle painfully underneath you and dropping your gun.

"Fuck!" you swore loudly "Shit, shit, shit, fuck, ow!"

"babe?!" Red's voice suddenly called "are you hu-AAAHHH!"

Short-cutting to the ground, Red landed on a bed of branches and leaves, which immediately gave way under his weight, and he fell into the not-insignificant hole Wing had dug with his magic. The look on his face when he figured out he'd been had was priceless.

"you sonnova-"

You picked up your gun and shot him, ending the game, and got up from the ground. Your ankle hurt a bit, but you'd live.

Wing laughed loud enough that you actually heard him as the others approached, Red glaring daggers at him.

"that's low, bro." he grumbled "using a mans love against him like that."

"Don't blame me because you're predictable." Wing chortled.

Red was still grumbling as Edge helped him out of the hole.

* * *

 

Bastard paint just wasn't coming off. You'd washed your hands four or five times and showered at least twice, but your hands and arms were still stained in different colours. You tried to ignore it as you packed up Sugar and Axe's house, almost as much as you tried to ignore how much you missed them. Sugar had a new job in Ebbott city, so he was getting busier and busier... soon you'd be at college, and you'd be just as busy. You'd drift apart. That was inevitable.

It hurt like a bitch.

Since you were packing your own stuff up anyway, it wasn't a big deal to just continue next door. The hardest part was Axe's room, which hadn't been touched since that night... you tried not to think about it. You tried. You tried not to think about the panicked look on his face, the way he was tearing through his journals, the way he swore he was going to protect you. You tried not to think about it. You failed.

Things are exactly the way they seem. Axe just needed more help than you all realised.

You kept telling yourself that.

One day you'd believe it.

You hoped.

A knock on the window startled you back to attention, and you looked over to see Anna leaning out of your bedroom, waving at you. You opened the window.

"So how was dinner?" she asked immediately.

"Alright." you told her "Wing cooked - he's pretty good. He made a red wine _jus_ and everything."

"And?" Anna pried, leaning forward excitedly.

"And... what?"

Anna groaned theatrically, whining your name.

"You're so dumb!" she cried.

"Excuse me?"

"Red doesn't have any parents - his brother raised him!"

"So?"

"So?! Wing didn't just drop by, Red invited him, to meet you!"

When you didn't connect the dots, Anna got frustrated, smacking you with a magazine she got off her nightstand.

"Dummy!" she accused "Red's gonna propose to you!"

"What?!" you cried "No he isn't! It's not even been three months!"

"Oh my god, he totally is!" Anna disagreed "This whole visit from Wing was a 'meet the in-laws' kinda thing!"

"Goodbye, Anna." you dismissed, closing the window.

"Ten bucks says he is!"

Window closed, you turned away from her. Who got engaged after only knowing someone three months? That's just dumb. With a sigh, you went to grab some boxes and started packing up Axe's journals. Maybe he'd get some use out of them where he was.

Your mind kept going back to that night.

What was he looking for?

You'd never read any of his journals - you respected his privacy, just like he respected yours - but as you kept picking them up, the thought kept tugging at you.

What was he looking for?

Just being here was emotionally draining. When you spotted the picture taken at your graduation party - Sugar holding you up like Simba from the Lion King, Axe wearing three cone party hats and sunglasses while blowing a whistle - you had to take a break. It was too much. You sat on the floor besides Axe's bed, picked up a journal and leafed absently through. You much preferred his pictures.

 

_december x, 3 days to giftmas. raining._

_our first giftmas in the new house - pap's already has the whole place decorated. it's tacky and i love it. i bought him a present - a beanie hat with pompoms on it. i hope he likes it. still looking for a job, no luck yet._

 

You remembered that hat - it was bright purple, and Sugar had worn it until it fell apart. You flipped ahead a couple of pages.

 

_december x, giftmas day. snowing._

_it feels right that it's snowing on giftmas. since humans don't celebrate it, pap's still had to go to work. i spent most of the day asleep. when pap's got home, he told me one of the humans he worked with got him a present. i hope he's making new friends._

 

That was you. You had never heard of giftmas before, but upon learning it was today, went out on your break to buy him something. You didn't know him very well yet, so had to settle on a scented candle and a box of chocolate. The way he reacted when you gave them to him, anyone would think you'd given him diamonds.

You put the journal in the box, picking up the next one that came you hand - one of the one's Axe had thrown to the floor before.

 

_june x. sunny_

_disability cheque came today, so i went to the supermarket. the kids next door came with me. apparently they're adopting another kid, so they needed some baby stuff. the younger one was bored and wanted to go play with their friends. the older kid kept holding my hand so i didn't get lost, and they didn't get mad at me when i forgot stuff. They even had a separate list for the stuff i needed. i can see why pap's likes them so much._    

 

You skipped to the back of the book. These once good memories were now tainted by tragedy, and you could feel a painful lump in your throat as you flicked through, seeing him stop referring to you as 'the older kid' and 'pap's friend' and instead by your name. He was happy when you took the time to talk to him. He liked your cooking. He was proud of you when you got into college.

You practically threw the journal into the box. You couldn't do this any more.

You ran from the room, tears streaming down your face.

You'd finish this tomorrow.

* * *

 

The owners of the Warehouse had gone all out for the final performance of Dorito Massacre: the theme for the last show was smooth jazz and lounge acts, and they had decorated the place like a classy speakeasy, with a dozen round tables, candles and flowers abound, and even enforced a dress-code for the audience to match. After what happened at the last performance, the number of tickets available was much more restricted, and everyone was searched on the way in.

The red dress he made looked perfect on you, hugging you in all the right places, and the way you picked a lipstick to match... Red fully intended that that lipstick was going to be all over his skull by the end of the night. He and Wing sat towards the back so they wouldn't distract you, your calm steady voice flowing over the room with every note. Red, dressed in his favourite suit, could hardly tear his eyes from you.

"I'll hand it to you, Sans." Wing said quietly, turning his metal lighter over and over in his hand as he watched the act "They're everything you said they were."

"ya gotta learn to trust my judgement at some point, bro." he whispered back.

"That aim... if that had been a real gun, we'd all be dust."

"very true."

"I wonder what else Daddy Dearest taught them..."

He picked up a crisp from the bowl on the table, chewing it thoughtfully.

"Smart... tactical... your chosen mate is the entire package."

"i know, right?" Red practically drooled - Wing had no idea how right he was.

"Still, we need to get ready to move."

Red startled, looking around quickly, but everyone's eyes and ears were glued to the stage. He settled back down, moving a little closer to Wing.

"but my plan-"

"It was a fine plan." Wing agreed "And I wish we had the time for you to see it through, but the net is closing in. We need to move, and we need to do it now. Unless you want to woo your beloved from behind bars, that is."

"fuck..." he grumbled "alright, what's the plan?"

"I can secure the target easily enough, thanks to your hard work." he began "We'll need to do it in the morning, give us the most time possible before the alarm is raised. All I need is for you to lay the bait."

"what about...?" Red asked, nodding to you on stage.

Wing just smiled.

   


	15. Missing Pieces

He hated living in Ebbott City. All the other monsters knew exactly what underground they had come from, and they gave them such pitying looks. The last thing he needed was fucking pity. Their so called 'cousins' weren't any better - that little shit Black even yelled at Pap's about his wheezing, as if it was his fault! A part of him wanted to move out into the middle of the woods and leave everyone and everything behind, but just the sight of the trees made him remember things he'd rather forget. He could forget everything but that. It was the worlds cruellest joke, heh.

At least the journals were helping - he might not be able to remember stuff, but he could read about it, so that was kinda like remembering, right?

It was late at night when there was a knock on the door. Pap's was out at his night job, and as much as he wanted to ignore the knocking, he had the feeling he knew who it was.

"hey, axe." Red smiled at him "how ya doin'?"

"again?" he answered in monotone.

"what can i say, y'know how... heh, 'industrious' wing can be."

"funny word for it."

"this a good time?"

"not here - around the back."

Red nodded and walked away as he closed the door. He took a moment to collect himself before changing out of his clean clothes and putting on his work gear.

The light in the shed at the end of the garden was already on. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to do this.

Red and Edge were waiting in the shed. He wished Wing and Red wouldn't get him involved - he still had the chance to be normal, have a life outside of this. They had already hauled their... 'package' onto the table.

"this makes seven." he noted, looking the package over "this one's pretty intact. what happened?"

"overdose." Red explained "but don't worry, it's safe - wing checked it over first."

"i feel so reassured."

Sure enough, the package was covered in precise cuts where all the major organs should be. The sick bastard probably wanted to know exactly what this latest batch did to a humans body before he sold it.

"i don't understand why you waste your time with this shit." he said "both you and wing are smart enough to make a living a better way than this."

"money." Red answered with a shrug "if the humans didn't want it, we wouldn't be makin' it."

"whatever helps you sleep."

Red gave that shit eating grin of his, pulling a wad of cash out of his picket and handing it to him.

"whatever helps you _eat_." he retorted.

"get the hell out of my house."

Red just laughed, signalling to his brother that they should go.

"'til next time, _cousin_."

And just like that, they were gone. He pocketed the cash, hating himself every second as he got to work. It was like riding a bike - you didn't forget. He cut up the different joints and chops, making mince from the bits too small for anything else, and put them in the freezer. Half the bones he used to make broth, which also got frozen, the other half he made into gelatin and flavoured with neon, sugary 'fruit flavouring'. The parts that couldn't be used for anything else went in the furnace.

That's where Pap's found him when he got home - staring into the fire. He heard him wheezing and rattling outside the shed door for a couple of minutes before he finally came in.

"Sans?" he called softly, laying a hand on his shoulder "What are you doing in here?"

"nothing." he answered "i just put the shopping away, and... thought it was a nice night for a fire."

"You went shopping?" Paps asked happily.

"mostly meat. some broth to make soup. They were having a special on jelly."

"I saw that in the fridge. It looks nice!"

There was an awkward pause as Pap's rubbed his back. He suspected that his brother knew where these things actually came from, but he couldn't just come out and ask him.

"Let's go back inside." Pap's said "There's an MTT special on tonight. I think you'll like it."

He stared into the fire a moment more before shutting the grill on the furnace, following his brother back to the house.

He didn't have to do this forever - just until he made enough money to fix Pap's face.

 

January x. Snowing.

Number 8.

 

February x. Raining.

Number 9 was a kid. Couldn't have been any older than 13. He couldn't do this any more. He couldn't, he couldn't.

"I don't understand your objection." Wing said, looking down his nose-bone at him "One human or another, what does it matter?"

"this is a child!" he argued "i never agreed to this!"

"So was the human that maimed and slaughtered their way through your underground." the Fell reminded him "Think of this as delayed karma."

"no." he said certainly, shaking his head "no more, i can't..."

"and what about yer bro?" Red asked, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the table "what about fixin' the damage that bitch did to him?"

"You'll never save enough with the pittance you get from your disability cheques." Wing knew "And you'll never get hired with your little memory problem."

"i'll find a way." he swore "i'll save every penny! i'll fucking starve if i have to! i'm not doing this any more!"

Red went to argue, but Wing laid a hand on his shoulder, silencing him.

"Very well, Axe, if that's how you feel." he said smoothly "We won't darken your door again. However..."

Wing put his hands on his shoulders, leaning down so he was eye-to-eye with him.

"If we go down, we're taking you with us."

"you don't gotta worry about me telling." he assured "i'm gonna forget this whole thing ever happened - _permanently_."

"Good lad." Wing said with a smile, patting his cheek patronisingly before signalling to his brother to leave "Take care of yourself, Axe."

He was seething so much, it took him a moment to realise they left the body.

 

February x. Snowing.

He left the body in the woods, several short-cuts away from his house. The guard would find it eventually, and the weather would make it difficult to know how long it had been there.

 

February x. Snowing.

He had to leave this city. He had to. He couldn't stay here any more. The memories wouldn't leave. As long as he was here, he couldn't forget. He'd convince Pap's when he got home form work. He had to. He couldn't live like this any more.

 

March x. Cold and clear.

Moving day.

* * *

 

You stared at the words you were reading, hardly able to take them in. This is what Axe had been looking for, the thing he was desperately trying to remember that night. This was why he didn't want you anywhere near Red. A cold sweat swept over you, leaving you feeling slightly nauseous. You had been right all along. You'd never been so unhappy to be right.

You closed the journal, letting the realisation settle in. Your boyfriend and his brothers were criminals, and used your friend to help them dispose of evidence. Being a tailor was just a front to explain where their money came from. Red didn't come to rescue you from that underground - he came to make sure Axe didn't spill his secrets and ruin everything for him. What was Wing doing that produced so many bodies? And what were they doing here? What did they want from you? Was it just a coincidence? No, you stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago. So what was their plan?

The ringing of your phone bought you back to the here and now. You were once again sat on the floor of Axe's room, having packed away the rest of his journals, and found this one lodged under his bed. A moment of curiosity was all it took to open it, and now... a part of you wished you hadn't. A part of you wanted to live in ignorant bliss, believing everything was the way it seemed.

No, everything _was_ the way it seemed. You were just looking at it from a different angle.  

So, what now?

You fished your phone out of your pocket - it was Red calling you. Just the sight of his name made you want to throw your phone out of the window. Instead, you stayed calm and answered it.

"hey babe." he greeted "you on your way? boss is throwing a bitch-fit. y'know what he's like when he's hungry."

"I'm running a bit behind." you told him "Can you pick me up in about ten minutes?"

"sure thing. see you then!"

He hung up, and you wasted no more time, locking the door behind you and running home. By the time Red arrived, you were ready. He was laughing and joking with your foster father when you came down the stairs.

"you look great, babe." he said when he saw you "But ain't it a little warm for a coat?"

"We're going to be out late." you reminded him "Better safe than sorry."

"Have a good time." your foster father bid as you passed him "Oh! Hey, have you seen your sister? She went out early this morning and I haven't seen her since."

"She said she had something important to do." you remembered "She didn't say what."

"Well... okay." he said unhappily "Curfew's still not for a few hours, I guess."

"relax, she's probably just out with some friends." Red supposed "movies, shopping, making the most of the summer."

"Yeah, sounds right." your foster father laughed "What it is to be young, eh?"

"See you later." you bid him, giving him a quick hug.

He was understandably confused - you weren't typically that affectionate. Red didn't even seem to notice, putting his arm around you and short-cutting away.

You reappeared on the cliff you ended your first date on, the wind whipping your hair and clothes all around you.

"man, look at that view." Red breathed, shielding his eyes from the sun "back when we were underground, i never could have imagined something so big. i mean sure, the sky is amazin', but the ocean is vast and deep and it's just there, ya can touch it, y'know?"

"I thought we were going for dinner with your brothers?" you asked him "Is there a restaurant around here?"

"we're on our way, cupcake, i just gotta ask ya something important real quick."

Finally letting you go, Red stood in front of you and got down on one knee. You had to hand it to Anna - she was right on the money. Red took his eyes off you as he reached into his coat pocket, but the smile was quickly wiped from his face when he felt the cold edge of your hunting knife against his throat. He wasn't surprised, if the look on his face was anything to go by, looking back at you with a resigned expression.

"i fuckin' hate it when wing is right." he grumbled.

"I could forgive you for being a criminal." you told him "God knows I've known enough of them in my time. But you lied to me. You saw my trust issues and you exploited them, you used my friends against me and then isolated me from them. Why? And why attack Axe? He couldn't even remember why he didn't like you, if you had left him alone-!"

"couldn't risk it." Red said simply "i put a lot of work into this, i couldn't have him fuck up my plans with a sudden brainwave. how'd ya find out?"

Without taking your eyes from him or you knife from his throat, you took the journal out of your coat pocket for him to see.

"of-fucking-course." he grumbled as he glared at it "dozens of fuckin' journals, thousands of pages, and ya find the one that ruins everything. can i see that?"

"No." you answered, putting it back in your pocket "So, what was this plan of yours?"

"to make ya fall in love with me, of course."

"Why?"

"honestly? i didn't even come into town for ya." he confessed "wing sent me to gather intel on someone entirely different, but the first moment i saw ya... i never believed in love in first sight until i saw ya, and i just knew i had to make ya mine."

"Then why not just come up and say 'hi'? Why the cloak and dagger, why the lies?"

"'cause i ain't stupid, cupcake. it's knowin' things that keeps me alive. i wanted to know everythin' about ya before i introduced myself, and ya know exactly what i found."

"So you knew that I was-"

"perfect?" he interrupted "everythin' i ever dreamed of? my wildest dream come true? yeah, i knew. i gotta say, ya really unsold yer abilities that night. is it true ya killed a wolf with a switchblade?"

"It's how I got that scar on my arm." you confirmed.

"babe..." Red sighed, his red eyelights morphing into hearts.

Even with your knife to his throat, he finished pulling the ring box from his pocket and presented it to you.

"marry me?" he asked.

"Are you insane?!" you yelled at him "What the fuck makes you think this is a 'marry me' situation?! Furthermore, what the fuck makes you think I would marry you after all the shit you've pulled?!"

"ain't that the dream?" he asked you "findin' someone who loves ya for who ya are? someone who see's all ya flaws and faults and still picks ya over everybody else?"

"I'm not romantically inclined." you said through gritted teeth "You know that."   

"yeah... yeah, i do." he sighed "I was hopin' ya'd get a bit more lovey-dovey in a relationship but ya are the way ya are. doesn't really matter, i guess - i'll be lovey-dovey enough for us both."

"That's awfully optimistic of you." you thought.

"not really." he sighed, putting the ring box back in his pocket.

In a feat of speed you never expected from a man of his size, Red tackled you, grabbing your wrist to keep the knife away from him. You braced yourself, expecting to feel the hard ground against back any second, your whole body rejecting the sensation when you instead sunk into something soft and springy.

"You're late." Wing grumbled.

You looked around - you were in a cheap hotel room, held down on the bed by Red. Wing sat on a chair at the side of the room, reading a book.

"I see I was right." he said without even looking up.

"a minor setback." Red insisted "all couples have their arguments, we'll get through this."

"I admire your optimism." Wing said "Get the knife, will you?"

You jumped, looking to your other side as the knife was forcefully taken from your hand. Edge looked incredibly guilty and uncomfortable as he tucked it inside his boot. He wasn't the only one who caught your eye, though.

"Anna?!"

Anna tried to scream, but the gag on her mouth prevented her as she struggled futilely against the rope that had her tightly bound. She was sat on the other bed, completely immobilised, panic-stricken and crying. 

"What the fuck have you done to her?!" you yelled, struggling harder against Red's weight, but he was completely immovable.

"Nothing." Wing assured you "Yet. And as long as you behave, it will stay that way."

You stopped struggling, glaring at him with all your might.

"Better." he said "Let them up, Sans."

He did so, but seemed very reluctant to climb off of you, keeping a tight hold on your hand as you sat up. Wing immediately put the bin in front of you.

"I want your phone, your house keys, your wallet, and any weapon you have on your person." he demanded "And Sans will be searching you, since you two are so familiar already."

You did as he asked, throwing your smart phone, keys and wallet in before taking the mace and another knife from your belt. You never broke eye contact with him, nor he with you.

"Shoes." he demanded "Socks too."

Before you threw them in, Wing took them, inspecting them a moment before pulling a box cutter from the heel. Edge actually whistled.

"And that is why I tell you to check everything." Wing said to him "Sans, kindly take your mate into the bathroom for a strip search."

You were still glaring at Wing as Red pulled you up and to the bathroom. You refused to look at him, and he kept things professional as he searched you. Satisfied you didn't have any more weapons, he gave you back your clothes, and the two of you returned to the main room. Anna was crying again, hardly able to breathe, as Edge pat her back in a manner that you were sure was supposed to be reassuring. You sat back on the bed, once again glaring at Wing.

"My dear, I do admire your composure." he complimented "But I suppose this is all old hat to you, isn't it?"

"What the hell is this all about, Wing?" you asked "I know it's not about me."

"A happy coincidence." he confirmed, looking at his phone "It's time. Be a dear and keep quiet."

Wing looked up to Edge, who immediately put a bone knife to Anna's throat. You got the hint. The phone rang three times before Wing answered it, putting it on speakerphone and holding it poised at the ends of his fingers.

"Hello Miles." he said, looking directly at you.

"Dr. Gaster, I take it." you heard your brothers voice through the phone, restrained and stressed.

"Why so formal, Miles?" he asked "With everything we know about each other, surely you can be a bit more friendly?"

"You have my sister." Miles knew.

"That I do."

"Let me talk to her." he asked.

"Hmm..." Wing pretended to consider, kicking his foot a little "Alright. Briefly. Anna dear, if you scream or make any noise that will attract attention, I'm going to cut your throat."

Anna nodded, shaking so badly you could see it even from here. Edge removed the gag from her mouth and she immediately sobbed.

"Anna?" Miles called from the phone, concern clear in his voice "Are you there?"

"I-I'm here." she sobbed, only just loud enough for them to hear "W-we're here."

"We?" Miles asked.

"I'm here too." you confirmed.

Miles swore.

"You didn't mention that, Gaster." he seethed.

"A recent development." Wing shrugged.

"You guys doing okay?" Miles asked you.

"Physically." you answered.

Anna just cried.

"Anna, kiddo, I need to you listen to me." Miles said to her "I know you're scared, but you know we're going to take care of you, right? You're our baby sister, you know we'll get you home in one piece. You just need to listen to us, okay?"

"Y-y-yes." Anna sobbed.

"Anna will be fine." you said certainly "I promise."

"I know I can count on you." he answered seriously "Alright, Gaster - what do you want?"

"Straight to business then." Wing took over "I understand you and your team have been building a dossier of sorts on me and my operation."

"Correct." Miles confirmed.

"It's going to disappear." he went on "A computer glitch, a virus, coke spilled on the server - you're a smart man, Miles, I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I can't just-!"

"You will 'just'." Wing interrupted "Or you'll be picking pieces of your baby sister off the roadside for a hundred miles in every direction. Be a good boy and Anna will be released unharmed."

"Just Anna?" he noted.

"Why spoil the surprise? Goodbye, Miles."

Wing hung up the phone before Miles could say anything else, dropping it into the bin with your things. With a snap of his long fingers, the bucket imploded into what could only be described as a black hole, which itself then disappeared.

"Any more questions?" Wing asked you.

"Just one." you confirmed "Where do I fit into this?"

"What makes you think you fit anywhere?"

"Don't play dumb, Wing, it doesn't suit you." you snapped "I understand how Mile's is involved, and I understand why Anna is involved."

"You _do_?!" Anna cried.   

"Nana and Suzy would be too much trouble." you told her "Toddlers need a lot of care and people Nana's age might just up and die. Mum and dad? They're adults - sure, Miles would be upset if they were kidnapped, but it wouldn't have the same visceral impact as his baby sister. He wants to rile up Miles in the way that would cause _him_ the least amount of trouble. All told, that's you."

Anna was speechless, eyes searching wildly for another answer, but coming up with nothing. You wouldn't be surprised if 'who's the best person to kidnap' was a topic which had never once crossed her mind.

"Which bring me back to my question."

You looked back at Wing, who was smiling patiently as he listened, head propped up on one hand.

"You're smart enough to know I'm a risk to you." you went on "And I don't think you're sentimental enough to take that risk just because your brother think's he's in love with me."

"'thinks'?" you heard Red mutter.

"Your best option for success was not getting me involved at all. So I'll ask you again - why am I here?"

Wing laughed quietly, eyes not leaving you for a moment.

"You're wrong." he told you "I am at least a little bit sentimental. You see, my dear, none of us are getting any younger."

He gestured to himself and his brothers.

"Now, I'm not really the marrying type." he went on "And dear Papyrus struggles even with platonic relationships, so that just leaves Sans. Luckily, he's always been a hopeless romantic, so it was only a matter of finding the right person. Imagine our surprise to find _you_ when we go to gather intel on the officers investigating us. Sans falls head over heels for you, and I for one couldn't be happier with his selection. Your skills and abilities will be invaluable not only to us, but to the next generation as well."

"You want a baby factory." you summarised.

"How crude." Wing criticised, still smiling "I could pay any whore for that, or pick up a couple of orphans. I want to expand this family, make it stronger, smarter, better. You're the perfect person for that."

"And if I refuse?" you challenged.

"Then we start cutting bits of you off." he said without skipping a beat "First your little toe, then your second toe, your middle toe, until all your toes are gone. Then your feet. Then inch by inch of your legs, until we reach the knees. Then you won't be able to escape, so it doesn't matter what you want."

You stared each other down. He meant every word of what he said, and you knew it. It was a hell of an ultimatum, but as long as they had Anna in their grasp, you had to be calm and play nice. You turned to Red, who watched you apprehensively.

"Is this what you wanted?" you asked him "What you planned?"

"nah." he confessed, shaking his head sadly "i was gonna do it the right way, make ya fall in love with me with good ol' fashioned charm, maybe get a bun in the oven to help the process along a bit, introduce ya to the family business a little bit at a time. turns out yer bro and his team were further along than we thought, kinda forcin' our hands."

Red knelt down on the floor in front of you, taking you hands in his and looking at you imploringly.

"babe, regardless of everythin' going on around us, i really do love ya." he swore to you "i loved ya the first second i laid eyes on ya, and that love has doubled every day since. i meant every word i ever said to ya: i'll take care of ya, i'll protect ya, i'll give ya the entire world if that's what ya want, and all i want in return is you. say ya'll marry me? please?"   

He pulled the ring box out of his pocket once again, presenting it to you. The ring was nice: antique, not too flashy. You looked at Anna, whose face was frozen in horrified shock, and Edge, who was just as interested in your answer as Red was. You needed to stay calm. You needed to be smart.

You took the ring from the box and slid it onto your finger.


	16. A New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you enjoying this fic, please feel free to take a look at my other Undertale fics [Eye of the Beholder](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7879420/chapters/17996635) and What You Don't Know

You stared at the ceiling, the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway the only sound you could hear. You hadn't stayed at the hotel long after 'accepting' Red's proposal, and four shortcuts later you arrived at the skeleton brothers true home - a Victorian style house, so large it was almost a mansion, with a barn on one side. Getting your bearings, the first thing you saw was water in front of the house... and to the side of the house... and behind the house.

An island. The house was on a fucking island. Freshwater, so most likely a lake, and the closest shore was a mile away. There was no sign of a boat anywhere. There were mountains all around, covered in forest. The forest you could use, but the lake? That would be an issue.

Red had practically collapsed upon arrival, Wing taking him under one arm and hauling him into the house, bidding over his shoulder for Edge to show you and Anna to the guest rooms. Anna hadn't wanted to stay alone, and you had no intention of making her: she had cried herself to sleep, apologising over and over again and saying how everything was her fault and you had been right the whole time, to the point that she was getting hysterical.

"You think that's what I want to hear right now?" you had told her coolly "There'll be plenty of time for 'I told you so' when this is over. Please be quiet and let me think."

Even now she clung to you, sleeping beside you on the large bed.

_tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock._

The kind of thinking you had been suppressing so long, forcing to the back of you mind as a disordered coping strategy, came back to you easily.

Getting off the island would be the hard part. With Red's ability to teleport, there was no need for a boat. But how did Edge and Wing leave when Red wasn't around? Did they have similar abilities? Edge had never mentioned anything... Neither you or Anna could swim that far. Of all the things you could do, swimming just wasn't one of them - you had tried to learn several times, but you never got deeper than your shins into the water before your heart started racing and you were covered in a cold sweat.

A part of you wandered if they somehow knew that, and put their house on an island to keep you trapped.   

And then there was the skeletons themselves. Red was strong, fast, and of course he could teleport, but his movements were predictable and his stamina low, so the key would be outlasting him. Edge wasn't as strong, but he was precise, analytical, and the bastard never slept, making sneaking around the house at night looking for a way to leave the island next to impossible. However, his eyesight was bad, and thus far he had been the only one of your captors to show an iota of conscience, which may be your key to getting past him. Wing was an unknown factor - he was smart, not above using psychology against an adversary, but he didn't seem like the type to get his hands dirty. You weren't going to outsmart him, and until you knew his capabilities in a fight, it was best to avoid him completely.

Then there was the whole 'soul' aspect. Human souls were known to be stronger than monster souls, even a LVless one like Anna's, but you were dealing with violent skeletons with gravity manipulating magic on their side. They would have adapted to fighting humans, you were sure, so relying on soul power seemed unwise. Other than that, you had the advantage of size - Fells were some of the biggest monsters, and even Red, the shortest of the brothers, was enormous: you and Anna could easily fit in small spaces that they couldn't. Your best chances of surviving involved running and hiding. Once you were off this island and in the forest, it would be easy.

The island was the hard part. Why would Edge have a car if he had a way to get around without one? If Wing and Edge couldn't teleport, there had to be another way off, a boat or a bridge or... something!

Anna stirred, mumbling in her sleep and nestling further into you. Whatever plan you came up with, it had to account for her abilities, or lack thereof. PE was her worst subject, and she didn't have your training.

 _tick, tock, tick, tock_    

You didn't sleep that night. You didn't think you'd sleep for a while.

* * *

 

Red looked like hell. How was it possible for a skeleton to have bags under his eyes? He dragged his feet all the way to the table, slumping in his seat with an almighty groan. All those shortcuts yesterday must have really taken it out of him.

_Good._

Edge served breakfast, shaking his head disapprovingly at Red before dumping almost the entire pan of scrambled eggs on his plate. Wing sat at the head of the table reading a broadsheet (where did he get it?), sparing you and Anna nothing more than a glance when you came in. Once everyone had a plate of eggs, toast and bacon, Edge sat down and Wing put his newspaper away.

"Sans, try not to pass out in your eggs this time." he said, to which Red just grumbled and clumsily grabbed his fork.

There was a painful silence as you ate. You didn't touch a thing until the skeletons were half way through theirs, and Anna copied you.

"It isn't poisoned." Wing assured you when he saw you picking through your eggs carefully.

"After everything else you've pulled, I have no reason to believe that." you said.

"I wouldn't poison you." Edge grumbled.

"Besides, you'll be cooking at some point." Wing went on "We take turns - today is Papyrus, tomorrow is Sans, the day after that is yours, then mine, etc. If we want to make sure you don't poison us, it's only fair we do the same for you."

"Wasting food is a sin." you stated "But the second any one of you puts anything in my food that shouldn't be there, all bets are off."

"Acceptable." he concluded "So, what are you girls going to do today?"

"I thought we'd do some shopping." you smarmed "Go to the mall, get our nails done, maybe see a movie-"

"Sarcasm." Wing said "Cute."

Everyone at the table jumped as Red's head landed heavily on his plate. So much for not passing out in his eggs. Wing just sighed and pushed him back up with one hand, brushing food off his brothers face. After a few moments, Red's eyelights suddenly reignited, and he jolted back awake.

"i'm up, i'm up!" he cried before slumping again "uuggh."

"Sans," Wing said, getting his attention "Perhaps you and the ladies would like to spend the day perusing your extensive movie collection?"

"bro, i'm too tired to decode what the fuck yer tryin' to say." he answered, leaning his head heavily on one hand "simple words, please."

"Take the day off." Wing simplified "Stuff your face and watch tv."

"yer a doll, bro."

Wing just sighed, shaking his head ever so slightly before going back to his meal.

Once everyone was finished eating, Edge cleaned up and Wing wandered off to 'work'. Red hauled himself up with extreme difficulty, grunting and sighing as he walked the length of the table. He went to take your hand, but you steadfastly refused.

"still mad, huh?"

"Yes." you replied curtly.

"can't be mad forever."

"Watch me."

Red looked genuinely hurt - like he had any fucking right to be! - and sighed, gesturing for you both to follow him. You didn't stop Anna grabbing your hand, and she held it tightly as you followed Red through the house. He led you to a decent-sized living room, the walls of which were lined with shelves and shelves of DVD's and a frankly massive tv and sound system, and practically collapsed into one of the plush armchairs.

"pick whatever ya like." he said, gesturing vaguely to the shelves all around.

You kept your eye on Red, but gestured for Anna to pick a movie. It took her a while, as she looked back at you every few seconds, but eventually she settled on some animated thing. Before the opening credits were even over, Red was asleep, snoring loudly.

"Anna, I want you to stay here." you told her quietly "Watch the movie, _and_ him."

"But where are you-!" she startled, grabbing your arm.

"I'm just going to take a look around." you assured, putting your hand on her shoulder "I'll be back soon enough."

"You wouldn't leave without me?" he begged, hardly above a whisper.

"Never." you promised.

She looked at you beseechingly, trying to find a lie, but finally believed you, letting you go and sitting in the chair the furthest away from Red. Her back was straight and her hands were clasped firmly in her lap - she was frightened and stressed, she wouldn't last long in this condition. You took a quick look out of the window, judging the distance before opening it and jumping out, landing silently on the grass.

The first thing you did was make a lap of the house, keeping under the windows, which you counted as you moved along. Later, you'd do the same inside: if there were more windows visible outside, then there was a hidden room or hallway somewhere. The windows were high off the ground, far higher on the outside than the inside, so the houses foundations were large. A basement? Seemed unwise on an island. On each side of the house, you checked out the shore and any landmarks between, but save for the odd large rock or branch, the lake was featureless, the shore frustratingly far away. You checked the water - the decline was shallow at first, but dropped off steeply after a few metres. There were fish in it.

You looked around at the mountains, spying what you thought was a pylon. Pylons mean wires, wires mean people. If you could just get off the island... it wasn't a great plan, but it was all you had right now. You continued looking around, spying Edge hanging out some washing on a line beside the back door. He had his back to you, so you snuck past him to continue your recon of the barn. It looked completely normal from the outside. A grating chuckle got your attention.

"Having fun?" Wing asked.

You looked up to see him leaning out of the barn window, one hand holding up his head, the other clutching a small screwdriver. He smiled at you in a way that would have been friendly in any other circumstance.

"Just looking around." you defended "Didn't fancy sitting inside all day. What's in the barn?"

"Just my workshop." he confessed "Come inside, take a look."

Such an open invitation only raised your suspicion, so you were alert as you walked around to the door. Wing opened it from the inside to let you in, and to your surprise left it wide open. Not that he was at all worried about you escaping, you supposed. He held all the cards, and he knew it.

The workshop was just that - a workshop. Tools of all shapes and sizes were hung in their proper places on the walls, workbenches were covered in blueprints and machine parts, and half-finished contraptions lay under sheets and tarps at the sides of the room.

"So what do you make in here?" you asked as you looked around.

"Oh, this and that." Wing replied vaguely "Stuff we need mostly. Occasionally I take commissions, but that's rare."

"What's that one?"

"That's a laser drill. I made it to break into a bank vault a few years ago."

"You guys rob banks?"

"Occasionally." 

"Why? Don't you make enough money selling echo?"

"Science is an expensive mistress." Wing explained, leaning casually against a workbench "That, and I wanted to see if I could do it."

His arms were crossed and his eyes were fixed on you... he was waiting for something. A question? An observation? You kept looking around. Up on one of the workbenches, you spied something familiar: from a glance it looked like a rubix cube full of wires, so you got closer to inspect it. Wing shifted - this was what he wanted you to see. There was no mistaking it up close.

"This is my fathers design." you knew.

Wing grinned, sharp teeth finally being shown off.

"That it is." he confirmed.

"You're in business with him?"

"I buy things from him occasionally." he went on, standing from the bench and walking over "Explosives, mostly. He also tests weapons I design every now and again. Afterall, why do the dangerous work if I don't have to?"

"Why do I get the feeling it's not a coincidence?"

Wing stopped before you, still smiling.

"Imagine my surprise to find out that that human stain had a child." he explained "The right age, and not bad on the eyes to boot. It must have been... four, maybe five years ago when I tried to convince your father to let you join our family. He said no, of course. Rather violently."

"I was 14 around then." you pointed out.

"A minor inconvenience." Wing supposed with a shrug "All children grow with time. Then you went and disappeared on us, so I let the matter drop."

Wing laughed, shaking his head at a private joke and fiddling with the screwdriver he still held.

"I wasn't lying when I said it was a surprise to find you." he confessed "I was formulating a plan to get the police off our backs and suddenly, there you were, all grown up. It felt like fate."

"You sound like Red." you criticised. 

"He is my brother." Wing grinned "I have to say, though, I'm surprised at you: I thought Papyrus would have been more your type."

"Edge?" you clarified "Why?"

Wing hummed, putting the screwdriver down and picking his words.

"Papyrus is a lot like a cactus." he said "Prickly on the outside, soft and wet on the inside. But you know that - you spent five days a week in the kitchen with the boy. He's certainly come to think highly of you in that time."

"You didn't care which brother I picked." you realised, feeling somehow insulted.

"Not even a little." he confirmed "The tsundere pretty-boy, the lovable slob, the refined older man, it didn't matter to me. Your expertise, your strong human soul and your unnaturally good aim were what I wanted." 

"Does Red know that?" you challenged.

"I don't think he'd care. I get what I want, he gets to be Duke Orsino."

A buzzer went off, and Wing finally stopped looking at you, going over to one of his machines.

"As much as I've enjoyed our little chat, my dear, I must attend to some pressing business. Have fun exploring the grounds."

You knew when you'd been dismissed. You took the opportunity and left. 'Have fun exploring the grounds', he said, 'it didn't matter to me', he said. God, you got angrier and angrier the more you thought about it. You were going to shoot him in the head, you were sure of it.

You finished your inspection of the outside of the house, but found nothing else of use or interest, so you returned to the lounge where you left Anna. She startled when the door opened, almost jumping clear out of her skin.

"You scared me!" she hissed, as Red was still snoring away.

"Sorry." you said "Quick question - do you know a 'Duke Orsino?'"

"Duke Orsino?" she repeated "The Shakespeare Character?"

"Maybe. What's his deal?"

"Uh..." she thought for a moment "Twelfth Night, I think. He's famous for being 'in love with love'."

Of course he fucking is, you thought bitterly.

You once again left Anna, this time to explore the house. Six bedrooms; four bathrooms; drawing room; dining room; library; kitchen; utility room; media room. You swore to yourself when the number of windows matched. You checked every cupboard, be they full of clothes, linens, medicines, furniture, whatever, patting down the backs and feeling for drafts and flimsy walls. You found the hatch to the attic hidden in the closest in Edge's room, and followed it up to find he'd made himself a little base among the furniture in the storage area, with action figures and a pirate flag. It was cute, but not what you were looking for. 

There must be a way into the basement. Usually they were in the kitchen or under the stairs, right? With no better leads, you headed that way, once again popping in to check on Anna. Your plan was curtailed when you found Edge in the kitchen preparing lunch. He looked up at you briefly before looking away, having the good courtesy to look ashamed.

"What are you making?" you asked him.

"Prawn cocktail." he said quietly, still not looking at you.

"Don't forget to cook the prawns this time." you instructed.

"That was one time!" he shrieked, back at his normal volume.

You just laughed, going back to the media room.

Now what? Edge wouldn't be in the kitchen forever, but it would be a difficult room to search with it's high rate of traffic. There may be nothing in the basement, but it was the last place you hadn't searched.

You snapped back to attention as you felt Anna poke you in the arm. You looked at her, but she pointed to the door, where Edge was stood with his arms crossed.

"You weren't listening, were you?" he barked.

"No, I was thinking." you confirmed "What's up?"

"The hot water isn't working." he said "It takes two people to get the boiler going again and..."

He gestured to Red, who snored loudly to punctuate his brothers point. A boiler big enough to require two people would either be in the attic or basement, and you knew for a fact it wasn't in the attic. Casually, you got up.

"Whatever, let's get it done." you grumbled like it was a chore.

Edge led you back to the kitchen, opening one of the large cupboards to reveal a staircase down - exactly what you wanted.

Suspiciously so, in fact.

You played it cool, following Edge down. What you were hit by first was not damp or stale air as you had expected, but the overwhelming stench of flowers, like a perfume factory exploded on a florist. The entire basement was tiled and grimy, lit by a single halogen bulb. There was an old sink, the boiler, and a heavily locked door. Edge went to one side of the frankly ridiculous boiler, tapping the gauge a few times before grumbling.

"Okay, you see that leaver there?" he asked, pointing it out "Pull it down. I have to hit a button on this side."

You did as asked, but nothing happened. Cautiously, you tapped the boiler, only to find that it was perfectly hot. Edge noticed you checking, and you locked eyes with him. He tapped the gauge awkwardly a few times before turning around and leaving, shutting the light off. You were about to yell at him for leaving you in the dark when you noticed there was still some light - through the cracks in the heavily-bolted door, a soft blue glow could be seen.

A soft blue glow, and the stench of flowers. Echo was called that because it's made of echo flowers, which only ever grew in the watery areas of the undergrounds. They required close proximity to fresh water and a certain level of light to grow. An irrigation system in a cave? Maybe, maybe not. Edge had wanted you to see this, but why? Was he trying to help you? Was it another trick, another lie? You couldn't investigate it right now, not when Wing knew you were looking for an escape route.

You went up the stairs, resolving to come back later and take a proper look. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps, two small notes before we go -
> 
> 1\. Never apologise for writing longer comments! A lot of you guys have put 'sorry for writing so much' or similar at the end of long comments, and you really don't have to! All comments are a treat, and the long ones are a treasure!
> 
> 2\. I'm back at work now, so updates are going to slow down a bit. As much fun as it was writing every day I was off, I can't pay my bills with fanfic.


	17. Complete and Utter Silence

You covered Anna's mouth before you even thought of waking her up. Of course she startled, but calmed down when she saw who it was who'd woken her. You pressed your finger to your lips, your demand for silence clear, as you gestured to the door: it was time to leave. You took her shoes, just to keep the sound as minimal as possible, and led her in creeping out of the bedroom.

The hallway was dark. The light was on in Edge's room, but he was up in the attic, doing whatever he did up there. Red and Wing's doors were closed, both fast asleep - you could hear your 'fiance' snoring from here. The stairs would be the hardest part, as they were old and prone to squeaking. You made signals at Anna to indicate what she should do, but of course she didn't understand you. You mentally facepalmed, instead pulling her right up to you so she has no choice but to follow. You clung to the wall, treading on the very edge of the steps, and not a single one squeaked. Anna picked up quickly what you're doing, falling in step behind.

Safely at the bottom of the stairs, you paused and listened... nothing. You kept going to the kitchen, opening the hidden door to the basement so slowly it's torturous. Anna was reluctant to go down into the pitiless darkness, but took your hand when you offered it, staying only a step behind. You didn't need to turn on the light, even after you closed the door behind you, as the blue glow from beyond the mysterious door lit your way. At the bottom of the stairs, you gave Anna her shoes, which she quickly put on. She went to talk, but you again held your finger to your lips, leaving her confused.  

It wasn't a coincidence that you picked this coat to come out in those few nights ago - it was thick, with deep pockets, but you weren't foolish enough to keep things in them. You found the corner of the lining that was shoddily shoved into the folds of the fabric and pulled it. Anna gasped, covering her mouth with her hands when she saw your gun, sewn into the lining with the coat along with bullets, knives, and a cheap push-button mobile phone. There was more hidden in the other side, but it wasn't important right now. You took the phone, writing something in the notes and holding it up for her to see.

'Don't make a sound. Any noise at all and we're caught.'

Anna looked at you incredulously a moment before making the phone gesture with her hand. You showed her that there was no signal, which there hadn't been when you checked it several times over the day. She just rolled her eyes, because _of course_ there was no signal. You gestured for her to follow you again.

Picking through all those padlocks would have taken too long, but you weren't unprepared - you hadn't gone to get Anna until every last thing was ready. Behind the boiler was a vent, so tiny that even you and Anna would have to squeeze through on your hands and knees. The skeletons would never be able to get through it, if they could even shimmie behind the boiler at all. You had already undone all the screws and set the grill aside.

Anna understood immediately, nodding at you when you gestured her through. You followed after, sliding the metal grate back into place. You wished you could put the screws back in their proper place to further mask your exit, but you didn't have the right tools on you for that. You would just have to hope your efforts were enough.

The blue glow now surrounded you, and was beautiful in it's eeriness. The smell of flowers was overpowering, and you crinkled up you nose in disgust, Anna covering her mouth with her sleeve. You'd emerged from the vent beside some kind of table in an alcove - on it was all measure of gardening equipment, industrial fertilisers and bags and bags of cultivated seeds. As tempting as it was to burn their whole operation to the ground, you had more important things to worry about right now. You led Anna into the 'field.'

It was actually rather impressive - a long, long hallway, wide and shallow, stood before you. The ground was damp beneath your bare feet, and every few feet was an irrigation trench filed to the brim with water that reflected the glow of the flowers and lighting crystals. The flowers were planted with military precision, thousands of soldiers standing to attention in blocks, the highest up to your waist, the smallest only sprigs sticking out of the dark ground.

Anna was aghast at the beauty of it all, tugging on your sleeve to get your attention. She pointed to her mouth, but you fervently shook your head. She shrugged, palms up, to as you why. Just as you had pulled the phone out to write an explanation, the universe answered her question for you: somewhere in the long, damp room, condensation had formed on the ceiling, or else the lake around them was seeping through, and a single droplet fell into the irrigated stream. The flowers around it echoed the sound. The flowers around them echoed that. On and on, thousands of times, spreading out like a ripple until it became a deafening cacophony, forcing you both to your knees with your hands over your ears. After an agonising few minutes, the flowers started to quieten, levelling out into an April shower rather than a monsoon. You looked to Anna to make sure she understood, and if the look on her face was anything to go by, she did.

You started into the long corridor, your sister close behind clutching your hand. There were no features in the hallway, no sights to see, no markings of any kind, just flowers, crystals and water, on and on and on. You stared resolutely ahead, keeping your ears peeled for the sound of padlocks being undone rippling through the flower bed, constantly moving forward. 

Eventually you came across a door. This one wasn't locked - what would be the point this far into the tunnel? Inside, the glow changed from blue to green as the genus of echo flower changed. The stalks were longer and thicker, the flowers much smaller, but they clustered together in large blooms that whispered to each other. You kept going.

Another door, this one leading to a black metal staircase. You reached into the other side of your coats lining, pulling out a tiny LED torch, and clicked it on through your clothes to minimise the sound. You didn't even step onto the metal until the door was closed behind you. Luckily for you and your bare feet, the metal was smooth for the most part, but it wa difficult to keep the light in a direction that allowed you both to traverse the stairs safely. It wa slow going, but you reached the end to find an ominous red glow. The flowers here had petals so dark they were practically black, with large thorns protecting their short, thick stems. They smelled awful, almost like rotting meat, and again Anna covered her face with her sleeve.

The end of this hallway led to another set of stairs going down, another strange glow and another room of echo flowers, these ones with gnarled petals that twisted and coiled around like springs from their bud. Another door, another set of stairs, another room of flowers. And again. And again. A part of you was impressed with the skeletons ingenuity in creating this, but it wa quickly crushed when you remembered they were using these flowers to make some of the worlds worst narcotics. Anna started slowing down, tired out from the long walk and suffocating silence, but you grabbed her hand and pulled her on. Once this was over you'd let her rest as much as she pleased. 

It took two more rooms for you to find what you were looking for - a staircase going up. It wa steep, twisting around in a square like a fire escape, but you could already smell the damp, sweet air of dawn wafting down. Anna just looked horrified. Making sure the door was shut behind you, you allowed her to rest, sitting on the comparatively dry steps. You pulled some items from your coat - glucose tablets, Kendal mint cake, and protein bars - and gave half of them to Anna. She pulled a disgusted face as she took them, but didn't dare complain. You also pulled out the water canteen, which you had had the good sense to fill before you went to wake her, and let her take a long drink. You ate as well, stretching your legs before attempting the long stairs.

Every three floors, Anna had to stop, her thighs burning and breathing laboured. Once upon a time you were able to manage six floors before stopping, and this was a hell of a time to discover you weren't as fit as you used to be. Even stopping every three floors for Anna's sake, your legs were suffering and your back was starting to hurt. After about fifteen floors, you stopped Anna for a proper rest once again, sitting with your backs to the wall in oppressive silence.

You looked all around as you rested, but found no security cameras of any kind, which struck you as odd - even out in the middle of nowhere, this operation was worth a fortune and should have some kind of security. Having a back exit only made sense, not only to get on and off the island, but to have an emergency escape if one of the lower hangars started to flood. You were sure there would be some kind of security camera at the top of the stairs, since the intention was to watch for people coming in rather than out.

You desperately wanted to sleep.

Instead, you checked your watch before standing up. It had been three hours since you had woken Anna. Your feet were coated in mud, luckily long since calloused against nicks and cuts, your knees were aching and your thighs burned. The air down here was close and wet, making breathing hard. If you thought about it too much, you were sure to have a panic attack. Now was not the time. You gestured for Anna to get up, heart breaking a little at the look on her face, but she did as you asked, swaying a little on exhausted legs. She was trying her best, but she was the princess to your soldier, just not built for this kind of physical hardship. You took a moment to give her a hug, which she returned with weak arms, and you could feel her shaking. You kissed her on the forehead before leading her on up the stairs.

When you eventually reached the top of the stairs, both of you were ready to cry. It had been a long time since your body had been through this kind of torment, and it was letting you know it wasn't happy. You once again took a break, Anna practically collapsing on the landing, rubbing her thighs with her hands as if that would somehow stop the burning in her muscles. Still no cameras. No wires leading down the walls that would suggest an alarm system. These skeletons must have been very confident in the secrecy of their location.

The metal door was locked. Reaching into the lining of your coat, you pulled out what at first glance looked like a pocketknife, but instead of a blade you unfolded a series of long, thin wires. It had been a long time since you'd picked a lock, but it came back to you easily. You used to be able to do it blindfolded, with your hands tied behind your back. It made your father so proud when you did it in under thirty seconds. You soon had the door unlocked, signalling for Anna to stay put while you scoped out exactly where the shaft had taken you.

Going once more into your coat, you got what actually was a pocketknife, using the highly polished blade as a mirror to get a good look at your surroundings. The pale light of early morning soaked the area. Trees, grass, sky, dirt, a wire fence. Concrete, cobwebs, the door... ah, there was the camera, lens pointing out into the woods. Wireless, battery powered. Better to take it out than try to sneak around it. The old metal door creaked on it's rusty hinges, so you inched it open. Once that camera waeds out, you need to put as much distance between it and you as possible, so you signalled for Anna to get to her feet.

The screws pulled from the weathered concrete easily before the camera found itself plummeting down the shaft to the bottom of the stairs. Emerging into the fresh air was like an orgasm for your entire body, the crisp clean air of the mountain the epitome of freedom. You grabbed Anna's hand, taking brief stock of your surroundings before you ran. The lake was a hundred metres behind you, the stairwell you'd emerged from nothing but a mysterious concrete bunker in the middle of the woods. Every other direction was trees, so you picked the one that took you away from the lake and ran. You sprinted over pine needles, rocks and brambles, clambering over rotting logs, dodging massive ancient trees and thorny bushes. Anna stumbled as you pulled her, panting hard, but didn't stop.

You ran until your lungs couldn't take any more, but the forest never stopped. Soon, the time to be fast was over, and the time to be smart began. You stopped briefly, looking at every massive tree you could see, before you found what you were looking for: one that wa easily scalable, with large, healthy branches, that reached high into the canopy. You finally let go of Anna's hand and did a lap around the trees base, checking for signs of disease, but the tree looked healthy. Realising what you were thinking, Anna shook her head - she already looked ready to throw up, but you had to keep pushing her, just a little further. You levelled her with the look you picked up from your foster mother - the one that said she was going to do this if she liked it or not - and she actually startsed to cry.

You understood. You were exhausted too. There was nothing you would rather do than fall asleep right here, buried under the pine needles, but today wasn't about doing what you wanted.

Your feet hurt like a bitch. You took a moment to brush the mud and needles from your soles as you backed away from the tree, hoping beyond hope that your body still remembered how to do this. Anna stood back, still silently crying as you charged the tree, jumping at the right moment and using your momentum to climb up the bark a few steps, grabbing the lowest branch before gravity inevitably remembered you and hauling yourself up. You didn't let yourself give into the pain, hooking your knees around the branch and swinging backwards so you were facing Anna, seeing her upside down. She was completely aghast, not believing that had actually worked, or perhaps not believing what it was you expected of her when you held out your arms.

She shook her head, backing away from you, but you didn't relent, waiting with your arms outstretched. She looked all around as if she was going to find another way, perhaps a ladder long forgotten against another tree, but came up with nothing. She wa visibly shaking now, arms completely unable to still as she reached for you with the utmost reluctance. You gripped her forearms tighter than you'd ever held anything in your life, and you pulled. Your abdominals threatened to snap under the strain, your spine protested that it wasn't made for this, the backs of your knees begged you to stop before they detached from your body entirely, but you ignored them all and pulled your sister up onto the branch. Once she was close enough, she grabbed for it herself, wrapping her arm over the top and allowing you to let her go long enough to instead grab her waist and haul her all the way up. Only once you'd pulled yourself back into a sitting position did you let yourself rest.

The look on Anna's face was beyond words, as if you had just told her your head was detachable, then proceeded to prove it. She had barely been a teenager when you found yourself living with her family, the true extent of your abnormal upbringing probably hadn't occurred to her yet. It was definitely occurring to her now as you once again got to your feet, ignoring the complaints of your entire body, and proceeded to climb the tree, picking the path she would find the easiest to show her the way.

You climbed as far up the tree as you could before the branches became too thin to hold your weight, but it was high enough to get a good look at the area. You were maybe two miles from the lake now, the house a black canker on the landscape. Forest, mountains... where was that pylon? You took a breath, smelling the air, but the metallic stench of pollution was nowhere to be found, suggesting there were no people for miles.

You took out your phone - only one measly bar of signal, and the battery of the cheap device was quickly dying. You sent one quick message - S.O.S - to the one person you could rely on to find you if you couldn't find your way home, and another to Miles detailing what you could see around you before the phone died. You kept a lot of things in your coat, but a charge pack and cables, perhaps shortsightedly, wasn't one of them.

Anna waited silently a few branches below you, swaying slightly and grabbing the trunk for dear life. The sun was getting high - you estimated it wa around 11am now - but you'd seen hide nor hair on your captors. After all the fuss and bother of capturing you, you would have thought they'd be more interested in tracking you down. Either they didn't know you were gone, which seemed unlikely unless they were all still asleep, or they had no idea where you were. Now you had left the island, you could be anywhere, and you intended to let them think that for as long as possible.

You needed to find a safe place to sleep, hunker down for a few hours until the sun set and you could make a break for it. Neither of you could continue much longer, and you'd only increase your chances of injuries or mistakes if you were overtired. You climbed down a few branches to take a good look around under the canopy. Trees, bushes, trees, thorns... all you needed was a cave, a hidden alcove, a thornless thicket, or an overhang you could rig a lean-to up on. What was that black there? Basalt?

You moved from one tree to the next, leaving Anna for a moment as you investigated. It was too dark to be basalt, too smooth. Your suspicions were confirmed when you got a good look - tarmac. A road. Roads meant people. People meant help. You made sure to orient yourself with the house on the lake before going back to Anna, helping her back down the tree. She started crying again when she saw the road, grabbing the arm of your coat. You put your arm around her as you walked along, seemingly a gesture of comfort, but in reality ready to throw her into the bushes at the first sight of a vehicle, just in case a certain skeleton was driving it.

The walk along the road was much easier, the tarmac kept cool as the canopy above blocked out the worst of the sun. For another forty minutes you made tortuous progress along the mountain lane, listening to nothing but birdsong and the rustling of the leaves, the crunch of Anna's shoes on the dirt and the pounding of blood in your ears. You were practically carrying her by the time you reached your first sign of civilisation - an old shop sitting at a crossroads. Even if there weren't people inside, you could find a secret place to sleep, so you made your way towards it, keeping you eyes peeled for any signs of life. The old windows of the wooden building were thick, making it hard to see inside, so you doubted the shop is inhabited. 

Rather than go through the front door and risk leaving signs of your presence, you went to the back, leaving Anna a moment to scale the old fence and unlock the gate from the inside, locking it quickly behind her. The weather-beaten back door looked like it would come open with a stiff kick, but you had neither the strength nor the inclination, so you instead pulled your lock picks back out from your coat, getting in in less than 10 seconds. You took Anna's hand and led her inside the back room.

Wing was sat there, one leg over the other, just waiting for you.

Your stomach dropped, your whole body went cold. You felt Anna tense behind you when she spotted him. Wing just smiled, pressing a button on his phone.

"Two days." he said calmly "Four hours, fifty two minutes. And eight seconds. I must say, I'm a little disappointed it took you so long, but I suppose you are out of practice."

The room went dark as Edge stood in the doorway. From the other side of the room, the door leading to the shop proper opened, and Red stomped in moodily. You were surrounded.

You couldn't... you couldn't...

You had nothing left. You were so tired.

He let you get away.

He wanted to see how long it would take you to escape.

All that effort, all that pain.

Anna didn't even cry. She didn't have the energy. Neither did you.

Wing sighed, rolling his shoulders before standing up.

"Now, we had a deal, my dear." he reminded you "And you've broken your side of it. Do you remember what that deal was?"

You couldn't think. You were completely numb. The room felt like it was spinning.

"As long as you behave," he stated slowly "Nothing bad will happen to Anna."

You wanted to be shocked. You wanted to be scared. Your brain was telling you that these things were right, but... you couldn't. Wing seemed to realise the state you were in when neither of you screamed or cried, tilting his head to the side.

"Hm." he said, not taking his eyes off you "Papyrus, break the little girls leg."

Your heart skipped a beat, but you couldn't move. Edge shuffled on his feet, looking away from his oldest brother.

"N-no." he mumbled, the quietest you'd ever heard him.

That got Wing's attention, his deep purple eyes snapping over to him.

"No?" he repeated, voice daring him to go on.

"M-my friend..." Edge stammered "My friend trusts me with their sister. They _trust me_. I can't..." 

Far from being angry, or even surprised, Wing just sighed, rubbing his nasal bones.

"Papyrus, Papyrus, Papyrus... how many times to I have to tell you?"

He took a few steps forward, laying a hand on his baby brothers shoulder.

"You don't have any friends. All you have is your family. All that matters is your family."

Wing raised a hand, and with a snap of his fingers, Anna let out a blood-curdling scream, collapsing to the filthy floor as her leg broke, jagged bone tearing through the skin. You barely had time to notice Red wrapping his arms around you before you passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little bit experimental with it's minimal dialogue, but the whole point of this fic was to try something new - let me know what you think!


	18. Mixed Messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many wonderful comments on that last chapter 8) That level of hate and rage is exactly what I was aiming for.

You woke up in the most comfortable bed you'd ever lain on. Consciousness came slowly, your body fighting it every step of the way as it tried to heal from the pain and exhaustion of your failed escape attempt. You could hardly move your limbs as you lay on your back, one arm folded over your stomach. It was bright, but you didn't dare open your eyes right away for fear of where you'd find yourself. You felt yourself slipping back into sleep already, but fought to hold onto your waking thoughts, taking stock of what was around you.

This criminally comfortable bed smelled fresh and clean, the duvet not too heavy for the season and soft, like natural fibre. Cotton perhaps? The sheets in the room you were in before were polyester. There was a gentle breeze coming through an open window, so you weren't underground either. You could smell the clean water of the lake, but the scent only made your stomach turn. There was very little sound, suggesting the door was closed.

The pillow under your head was soft, but there was a line of something very hard underneath. Your body was tilted slightly to one side, as if there was something heavy on the mattress beside you, but there was no heat to suggest another body. You realised you knew the sensation, from before the penny dropped and Red showed his true colours, and the two of you had been... intimate. There was no getting out of it - no matter how tired you were, you had to open your eyes.

Red was indeed laid beside you, though thankfully fully clothed, the hard thing under your pillow being his arm. He was also awake, his red eyes hazy as he looked in your direction, but somehow not at you, his other hand tucked under his chin. You noticed he was still wearing that bracelet you bought him on your first date, which last week would have struck you as sweet, but now...

You were having trouble feeling anything. You were burnt out, mentally and physically, your emotions all fighting each other to be acknowledged, leaving you hollow. You didn't know any more. Logically, you knew you should be coming up with another plan to escape, but... the futility of it all was overpowering. Everything had already been planned, your every move anticipated well ahead of time. What more could you do? You didn't know. You were so tired. 

Your stomach gurgled, startling the both of you. You locked eyes with Red a moment before he chuckled, taking his hand from under his chin and reaching for the one that lay on your stomach. Just as his phalanges touched your fingers, you found the strength to pull your hand away. His smile dropped, and he settled for resting his hand on your stomach instead.

"still mad, huh?" he asked "thought ya would have gotten that out of yer system by now." 

"Seriously?" you replied, voice hoarse from disuse and dehydration "Why would you think that?"

"'cause yer smart." he said honestly "i reckon by now yer woulda figured out this was in yer best interest."

You actually scoffed at that, looking back at the ceiling as you shook your head. Neither of you were making a move to get up, in your case from exhaustion, but most likely laziness in his.

"I'm dying to hear your logic for this." you told him "How the hell is any of this in my best interest?"

"ya got the whole world at yer feet - i'm gonna give ya everythin'-"

"Except what I actually want."

"is this about college? 'cause i was totally gonna let ya go before wing-"

"Oh, you were going to 'let' me go? How very generous of you."

"those effin' books weren't cheap, y'know, and the tuition-"

"I have a full scholarship."

"had."

"Have."

Red just grumbled, scratching your stomach lightly. You felt his other arm shuffle under your pillow as he pulled himself closer to you.

"tell me what ya want." he all but begged you "i'll make it happen. i'll give ya anythin'..."

You looked back at him, right into his pleading eyes.

"I want freedom, Red." you told him seriously "Freedom from this kind of life, from the violence and the plots and the crime. The freedom to choose who I want to be and what kind of life I want to live."

"i can give ya that. i can talk to wing-"

"And what alternative will I have? Staying home with the babies? Worrying that you're a heap of dust every time you don't come home on time? Spending twenty years raising children just to force them into the same impossible situation that I'm in? This is no kind of life, Red."

The look he gave you was strange, angry and detached, but far enough away that you could tell the anger wasn't directed at you.

"ya think it will just go away?" he asked after a moment "all the violence, all the bullshit, just because ya want it to? it won't... it never does... back when the barrier fell, i wanted to leave this kinda business behind and live a good life on the surface, but i couldn't."

"You could have." you disagreed "You could have been a tailor. Edge could have been a chef. With that dour face of his, Wing could have been an undertaker, and your mothers trifecta of success would have been complete."

Red snorted at that, eye lights softening as he gazed at you.

"god damn i love ya." he breathed "that's why i gotta protect ya. 'cause that kinda violence never just lets ya go - it hunts ya, sometimes from afar, sometimes right on yer tail, but it never lets ya go. at least a part of ya knows that, or else ya wouldn't have made that coat. how long was that sittin' in yer closet? years? ya still knew where to get a gun, how to maintain it, ya kept the battery in that glorified walkie-talkie charged, the food in those pockets fresh. ya knew it would come for ya, and ya stayed ready."

"I was paranoid."

"but were ya wrong?"

You couldn't answer that. The halves of your life were at war within you, pulling you between being prepared for the violence inevitable in life and recognising it as the paranoid delusions of someone who actually wanted to live like that. You knew both were true, and drawing the line was difficult.

"i wanna protect ya from the world." Red went on "won't ya let me?"

"I don't want to be protected. I want to be free to face life myself."

He sighed miserably, looking annoyed. You felt his arm shift under your head again as he moved away from you, sitting up and getting off the other side of the bed. He rubbed his hands over his face a few times.

"i'm tryin' so hard to do this the right way." he swore "if yer brother and his team hadn't stuck their noses in..."

You didn't like being the one lying down while he stood, so you forced yourself up, your spine and stomach protesting, your arms threatening to pop right out of your shoulders. You managed to sit up, but your head was light, and you stayed still until the room stopped swaying.

"If this is your idea of the right way, I'd hate to know what the wrong one is."

Red just laughed, but there was no humour behind the sound. He turned back to you slowly, and you didn't like the look on his face.

"that's plan 'c'." he admitted "plan 'a' was a bust, this is plan 'b'. if we can't come to some understandin', i got no choice but to move on. it's one hundred percent effective, but..." he looked away a moment "i wanted ya to love me."

"I did."

...

...

...Oh.

**Oh.**

_**Oh no.** _

Red's face went completely blank, and you covered your mouth with your hand. You thought if you didn't say it out loud, it wouldn't be real, that you could ignore it until it went away. Your throat started to sting, and you knew you were about to cry.

"Foolish, isn't it?" you managed to say "All my distrust, all my caution... and I ended up loving you anyway. How cruel. I love others so easily, I'm just setting myself up to be hurt, but I can't stop."

You looked him in the eye, but the red lights had extinguished.

"You were the first man to treat me like I was precious." you told him "Not as a child, but as a partner. You made me feel like I was important, like I was desirable, like I was worthy of being loved, rather than just loving from afar. I wanted to believe you... but it was all a plot, wasn't it? All 'plan a'. My feelings, my desires, they never mattered to you. You saw all my insecurities and failings and you exploited them. You took the things that mattered to me and you threw them away. I could have forgiven you for breaking my heart, but my trust? That's not so easy to fix."

With a great amount of difficulty, you got out of the bed. The battered soles of your bare feet burned as you put them on the carpeted floor, but you ignored it as you stood. Gone were the clothes you were wearing, replaced by one of Red's t-shirts, which fell almost to your knees.

"I'm going to check on Anna." you told him, shuffling over to the door and grabbing the handle.

As soon as you opened the door, it slammed shut again, Red's large hand holding it closed. Grabbing your shoulder, he spun you around, and before you could say anything, he kissed you with such passion and avarice that it shocked your whole body. He easily picked you up, not stopping the kiss for even a second as he threw you, and himself, back on the bed.

You knew where this was going. You knew how it would end, but... you wanted to be comforted. You wanted to be wanted. Just for a little while.

* * *

It was your turn to cry and apologise, sat at Anna's bedside and holding her hand. Despite the healing magic they were capable of, your captors had left Anna's leg broken, setting and wrapping it so it would hopefully heal straight, but giving her nothing in the way of pain relief. Your sister was clearly in a lot of pain, and if the redness of her eyes was anything to go by, she'd been crying a lot. She didn't cry now, though, but stared at you resolutely. 

"Why are you apologising?" she asked you "I never would've gotten off the island without you."

"But I _failed_." you pointed out "And now you're hurt. That wouldn't have happened if I-"

"None of this would have happened if I'd listened to you in the first place." she interrupted "None of this would have happened if mum and dad hadn't taken you in. None of this would have happened if Miles hadn't become a cop, or if those guys never discovered 'echo', or if they'd never been born. The line of 'if's goes back a long way."

"Anna..."

Your sister held out her arms to you, and you took her offer, sitting on the bed beside her and hugging her tight.

"So what's the plan now?" she whispered.

A cold sweat flashed over you, and you squeezed her a little tighter.

"The plan is we lay low and be good until Miles get's you out of here." you replied just as quietly.

"But what about you?!" she muttered desperately.

You stroked her hair a moment, wondering how to word this in a way she would understand.

"If someone told you they would hurt Suzy if you didn't jump off a bridge, what would you do?"

"I'd call you." she half joked "But I would jump if it would protect her."

"Well, I'm the one doing the jumping." you told her "Once I know you're safe, there's all kinds of crazy shit I can do to get away, but I can't risk it while you're here."

"Because I can't keep up?" she asked guiltily, most likely thinking of her lacklustre performance even before her leg was broken.

"No." you answered honestly "Because I would never forgive myself if I got you hurt again."

Anna sniffed, nestling into you a bit more. You sat there for a moment in the equally guilty silence, comforting each other. The silent camaraderie couldn't last, though.  

"You smell really bad." you noted.

"You aren't much better." Anna agreed, making you laugh.

You finally let her go, getting off the bed.

"I'll run us a bath." you told her "Just let me find some plastic to wrap your leg in."

"I can take a bath by myself." she pouted.

There was that naivety again. You just looked at her a moment.

"Did you forget where we are?" you asked her.

"No?" she answered, completely confused.

"Do you really want to be naked... alone... here?"

She tilted her head to the side, clearly not understanding. God, she was innocent. After a moment, realisation dawned on her face.

"Oh!" she cried, visibly shrinking down "Y... you don't think they would... do you...?"

"I'm not taking the risk." you answered simply "And if any of them ever try, scream and fight - there's nowhere I won't be able to find you."

Anna was noticeably horrified as she considered the implication of your words, but nodded seriously.

Leaving the room to go and find some plastic, you considered them yourself. Edge wasn't like that, you were certain, and Red didn't strike you as the type, but Wing... he probably would.

There was no-one in the house when you went from room to room, so you headed to the utility room, but found nothing you could use - no bin bags, plastic bags, sheets or tarps - and the kitchen was similarly disappointing. You noticed that the flimsy wooden door that hid the stairway down to the basement had been replaced by a sturdy metal one with electric locks and heavy duty padlocks high above your reach, even if you stood on the table. Now that Wing knew you could and would get out that way, it seemed he wasn't taking the risk.

You heard a hammering outside - so one of the islands occupants _was_ home. Going out the back door, you followed the sound to find Edge putting together a trellis.  For a moment, you stayed silent and watched him.

'You don't have any friends', Wing had told him 'All you have is your family.'

You had been lucky - your father adored you, and did everything possible to give you a good life. His methods were... unconventional, but he clearly cared. There were so few men like him who did, and a fair share of your childhood friends got their first beatings and broken bones courtesy of their parents. Edge's reaction when you called him your friend that first time... his yearning for the camaraderie of his three years of conscription... He was lonely, too removed from Red and Wing by years and temperament to be their friend as well as their brother. Had he seen a kindred spirit in you, someone who wanted something other than this life?

"Something on my face?" Edge suddenly asked, not even looking at you.

"No, and it's pissing me off." you answered.

He sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping as if he was holding the weight of the world on them, and turned to face you.

"Oh, there it is." you went on "There's the guilt I was looking for."

In spades, in fact. He couldn't look more guilty, miserable and forlorn, hardly able to look you in the eye as he fiddled with the hammer in his hands.

"Did you need something?" he asked quietly.

"Plastic to wrap Anna's leg in. We could both do with a bath." you explained "But before that, I need to know - why?"

"Why what?" Edge asked, wincing in a way that suggested he knew exactly what.

"You're clearly not okay with what's happening." you pointed out "Or else you wouldn't have shown me how to get off the island. Why are you going along with this?"

"I... it's... I can't..." 

He huffed and puffed a moment, looking this way and that, before throwing the hammer down.

"It was a good plan!" he finally cried "We take the cops little sister, get all that evidence destroyed, and it's over! Nobody had to get hurt! Then Sans goes and _falls is love with you_ , and I...?! He changes?! And Wing is okay with it?!?! I wanted to meet you, I wanted to know...!"

He screeched as he ranted, hands on his head as he started pacing this way and that.

"But then you called me your friend, and I... I thought it would be nice!" he admitted "Being friends with my sister-in-law, being close, and then you said you trusted me with Anna and I...?! I don't know anymore! You're my friend and Sans is my brother and I wanted it to work out, but not like this and now I don't know what to do-!"

"Papyrus!"

You stood in Edges path, stopping him short. You couldn't reach his ribs, so you grabbed his hips to stop him, causing him to lurch over you most inelegantly before righting himself.

"Calm down!" you ordered him "Breathe!"

"I don't have lungs!" he shrieked.

"Do it anyway, soldier!"

Still gripping his hips, you forced him to sit down on the grass, grabbing the back of his skull and tilting it between his knees. He didn't resist, and you led him in taking slow breaths until he calmed down. As his breath evened out, he started to shake.

"I'm sorry..." he said "I'm sorry... It shouldn't have been this way..."

"Coming from you," you told him "I believe it."

When he looked up at you, you saw bright red tears in his eyes. He suddenly looked very young, the baby brother in over his head in a world he didn't yet understand. His expression was hard to read, and he didn't say anything for a while as his eyes searched your face. Finding whatever he was looking for, he sniffed loudly, wiping his eyes and getting up.

"I'll get you some plastic wrap." he said quietly as he walked back into the house.

You stayed where you were a moment. Half of you wanted to be a good friend and comfort him when he was so clearly hurting, while the other half of you was already wondering how you could manipulate his feelings to your advantage.

An odd noise grabbed your attention, and you looked around to see Wing and Red step out of one of those odd black holes. Both were smiling and laughing, arms laden with bags and boxes - under Red's one arm was a large bundle of white satin, and slung over the other shoulder was a thick, bulging sack. They were surprised when they spotted you sitting in the grass, but walked up to you with a joke and a song.

"afternoon, babe!" Red greeted cheerfully "whatcha up to?"

"Just getting some plastic wrap so Anna can have a bath." you admitted "Where have you guys been?"

Red looked positively gleeful, throwing the fabric over his shoulder. With nothing more than a point of his finger and a quiet chuckle, Wing caught it with his magic. Red put the sack on the floor, and from the sharp shuffling sound it made, you could tell it was full of metal, or something equally as hard.

"i saw this, and i just had to get it for ya." he told you as he rooted around in the bag, grinning when he found it "ta da!"

He pulled out a necklace - the single jewel was a dark red, like crystallised Merlot, its facets shining in the afternoon light. It was shaped like a heart, but set upside down, similar to a monster's soul.

"it's a red diamond!" he explained "do ya have any idea how fuckin' rare these are?!"

"The rarest type of diamond." you knew.

Reds grin only got wider, and he unclasped the necklace before shuffling forward, tying it around your neck.

"the rarest diamond for my rarest diamond." he whispered when he was right next to your ear, but you hardly heard him.

Your eyes were locked on Wing, who was smirking at you. No doubt Red had told him what happened earlier. You just knew he was getting a kick out of this. 

You paid attention to Red again when he moved, giving you a kiss on the forehead before backing away.

"take anythin' ya want." he told you, tipping up the end of the sack "wing might need some of the clear ones for his lasers, but the rest is up for grabs."

A not inconsiderable pile of jewellery tumbled out, landing on the grass like unwanted fruit at a picnic. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, gems all colours of the rainbow set in platinum, gold and silver. And not a receipt in sight. You were guessing that bank vaults weren't the only things these two robbed. 

Red swore to himself, quickly picking out a diamond and pearl tiara.

"not this, though." he amended "or these earrings. or this bracelet. i'm gonna need these. in fact..."

He grabbed quite a few things, all of them diamond and pearl, and shoved them in his pockets.

"Putting together an outfit?" you teased.

"yeah." he confessed "yer wedding dress."

You couldn't have heard that right... actually, maybe you had, considering the circumstances. 

"Oh?" you settled on, the ice not quite hidden from your voice.

"don't worry, yer gonna love it." he promised, kissing you on the forehead again "okay, now they're all up for grabs. i got work to do."

He stood up and walked back to Wing, who handed him back the bundle of fabric with a knowing smile. He smirked at you again, waving as he followed after his younger brother.

In that moment, you made a decision.

You were going to force feed him his own fucking hands.

* * *

 

"Eggplant."

"Taco."

"Onion."

"Noodles."

"Sauerkraut."

"Ooh, that was a good one!"

"I concur!"

"What the hell are you idiots doing?"

Sugar, BB and Creampuff looked up from where they were sat on the grass, playing a word game as they watched the clouds go by. Black stared at them incredulously, phone in one hand.

"Playing a game!" BB told him, jumping up "You have to say a food that starts with the last letter of the food the last person says, and if you repeat a letter or your word ends with the same letter it started with, you lose!"

"Sounds dumb." Black grumbled "And speaking of dumb! You'll never guess which degenerate I just spoke to!"

"Ooh, tell us!" Creampuff requested, sitting up in his excitement.

Since everyone else was sitting, Sugar got up as well. Even sitting on the ground, he towered over the diminutive Black and BB, which caused the former to glare at him.

"That wretch Edge!" he answered in his usual high volume "His brother is getting married!"

"Red is?!" BB cried excitedly.

"That's amazing!!" Creampuff agreed "When is it?!"

"The day after tomorrow!"

Something clicked in Sugars head - last he checked, you were dating Red... but you wouldn't get married after only a couple of months of dating... would you? You hadn't been answering any of his messages...

"Who's he marrying?" he asked Black.

"Someone called... hang on."

Black scrolled through his phone, no doubt looking at his text history. Sugars stomach dropped further when he read your name aloud.

"The day after tomorrow?" Creampuff clarified "That... can't be right..."

"We haven't received an invitation!" BB confirmed.

"Neither have we!" Black went on.

"I'm sure it's just a mistake!" Creampuff assured, more to himself than anyone else "Right...?"

Yeah... it was a mistake... it had to be. There was no way you would get married and not invite him, not even tell him! Sure, things had been a little strained since his brothers... episode, but not that strained! You wouldn't just cut him out of your life like that! It had to be a mistake!

...

...

...

Didn't it? 

 


	19. Uninvited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! This one's going to be a short one, but only because the next chapter is going to be long and doesn't have a good place to split it in half. Please enjoy!

Credit where it was due - when these boys decided to do something, they really put their all into it. Edge had his trellis finished by the end of the day, painted white and laced through with soft pink and white flowers, one of the large, dark red echo flowers adorning the top of the archway, and positioned it facing the most scenic part of the lake. You were sure it would make for a fairytale wedding venue, were you not being forced to get married against your will. With that done, he proceeded to make a veritable feast, using all the fancy cooking methods he had learned from you to make more food than the five of you could eat in a week. Were other people invited to this joke of a wedding? You didn't know, as you were kept resolutely out of the loop. Red wouldn't even let you see the dress until it was 'perfect'.

The smirk on Wing's face when it was your turn to cook was enough to make you over-salt his food. Not enough to poison him - you'd never waste food like that - but enough for him to run to the sink and spit his mashed potatoes out in a most ungentlemanly fashion. He stopped smirking after that, and Red and Edge were noticeably more careful when putting things in their mouths.

Other than that, you had nothing to do, an unforgivable state of being that you loathed and abhorred in equal measure. Edge had been kind enough to bring a small tv to Anna's room so the two of you could watch DVD's, picking whatever you wanted from the houses impressive collection, but it only made you more restless as time wore on. You had heard nothing about how things were going with Miles, nothing about the wedding, nothing about anything! You were pacing so much the floor was starting to develop a groove, but anything you could do at this point would only be to the skeletons benefit, and quite frankly, fuck that.

Your restlessness was making Anna nervous, so you tried to calm down, read a book, do some meditation, but the itching in the back of your mind wouldn't stop, like the ticking of a clock counting down to something awful. She felt it too, stating like she felt something terrible was about to happen. You didn't have the heart to be sarcastic about it.

You had to do something.

You had to do something. 

 _You had to do something._     

You once again got up from the bed she was perched on, broken leg elevated on some pillows, and went to pace in the hall for a while, looking around all the rooms as you had done your first day here. Maybe you had missed something. Maybe there was another way out. Maybe there was a weapon.

You found your coat in Wing's room, carefully picked apart, its many secret pockets and straps assembled in an exploded view like a work of art. Was he hoping to make one of his own? With his brother being a tailor, it felt like he didn't need to reverse-engineer what you had done. It creeped you out, so you took some prawns from the kitchen and hid them in the cracks and crevices of his room. The summer heat would take care of the rest.

Eventually, you ended up in the attic, having once again gone through Edges closet. His little hideaway was cute, in a 12-year-old boy kind of way, but it was cluttered and the furniture was arranged in possibly the least convenient way and there was dust everywhere, and... It only caused you to huff, and like the restless older sibling you were, you started to tidy up, tetrising all the old and broken furniture to one side and making use of what you could to make the space a bit more comfortable. Moving the heavy furniture around helped you tire yourself out, and organising made you feel useful. It was something, even if it was essentially useless.

It was here that Wing found you, super-gluing broken action figures together while sat on the floor, facing the sun setting through the attic window.

"So, here's where you're hiding." he said to announce his presence "Having fun?"

"What do you want?" you grumbled at him.

"To discuss what we're doing with your hair. For the wedding." Wing explained, finishing climbing the stairs and stopping before you, hands behind his back "You're going to want to do something nice with it."

"You're going to want to fuck off." you answered.

Wing smiled, seeming only amused.

"When will you stop defying me?" he asked.

"That's a stupid fucking question." you went on "My father used to say I only learned to talk so I could talk back."

"He's always had a way with words." Wing agreed.

You didn't like the look on his face - he seemed to be enjoying this a little too much. That smile of his... was he just enjoying having power over you, or was it something else? His overall demeanour seemed set up to disarm you, put you at ease with his soft voice and passive gestures, but the second you looked into his eyes, saw the secrets hidden in his smile, you knew he was a serious threat. He let his brothers do the heavy lifting, but you were sure he was more than capable of getting his hands dirty.

You tried not to flinch when he suddenly squatted down in front of you, bringing himself as close as he could to your level, and reached out to touch your hair. Just as his hand brushed it, you slapped it away. His eyes didn't leave yours, still quietly amused, and you glared right back. There was a tense silence, and you were acutely aware that no-one else knew where you were, or would come to help you if Wing tried something. He seemed to know it as well, as his eyes travelled you up and down silently before he stood up.

"Dinner is in half an hour." he told you "We're having lamb."

With no further ceremony, he turned around and started back down the stairs, pausing just long enough to have the last word.

"I think a few flowers would look absolutely fetching."

It took a second for you to realise he was talking about your hair still. Once you heard the door of the attic close, you let out a breath you didn't realise you had been holding. Your heart was pounding so loud you swore you could hear it, and you took a moment to force yourself to calm down.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

You suddenly felt very weak, very tired, the stress and exhaustion of everything catching up with you.

You hated this. You hated this life. This constant danger, always having to be strong, to be prepared, to be ready to fight at any second. To never show weakness, or permit weakness in others, to never be soft... it wasn't who you were. You desperately wanted to be comforted, to have your friends or foster parents wrap their arms around you and tell you it was going to be okay, that they would help you, that this would end. All the reasons you had ever left his life were right in your face, and you weren't okay. You had to pretend, for Anna's sake, because he was relying on you, and to make sure your captors didn't find anything else about you that they could exploit.

You weren't okay. You started feeling dizzy, so put the glue and broken toys aside, lying down on the freshly clean floors. Breathe in, breathe out. This would pass, and then you would be strong again. You would. This whole thing would pass, and once Anna was gone, it wouldn't matter what you did.

Of course, it had occurred to you that they may have no intention of letting Anna go. She was their bargaining chip for both you and Miles, two people they desperately wanted to keep a leash on. Your previous escape had been motivated not by fear for your own well-being, by the very probable likelihood that they would kill her so they didn't have to worry about feeding a hostage. If you 'misbehaved', they might kill her, but if they killed her, you no longer had any reason not to burn this whole island and everything on it to the ground.

Fuck, it was getting hard to breathe. You forced all other thoughts from your head and focused only on that. Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down. Don't let them get to you. Don't over think it. Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down.

A creak on the other side of the room immediately put you on edge, not least of all because the floor hadn't made a single noise when you were moving the furniture around. You shot up so fast it made your back ache, looking towards the source of the noise, heart jumping painfully in the expectation of seeing Wing and his fucking smile just watching you. The source of the noise didn't even bother to hide, but it took your panicking brain a solid minute to accept what it was seeing.

"Sugar?"

Oh great, you were hallucinating. Sugar stood on the far side of the attic, bent awkwardly as he was too tall for the room, hands straight at his sides as he stared at you. Even with his teeth fixed and big round glasses on his face, seeing him just stood there in complete silence was like something out of a horror movie, especially when he didn't do anything right away. After a minute or so of staring at each other, he awkwardly took a few steps forward, bringing up his hands slowly, only to start wringing them as he called your name.

"I... I know this is sudden..." he started unsurely "But I... I heard you were getting married, and I was wondering... why I wasn't invited? I know things have been a little fraught between us, but I hoped it was only temporary..."

As he got closer, the expression on his face morphed from uncertain anxiety to concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he was close enough to see you properly "You look awful!"

It wasn't until he was knelt down in front of you, reaching out to touch your face, that you realised you had frozen solid, the gentle feeling of his fingers on your cheek jolting you back to life. You grabbed his hand, the hard feeling on the bones under your flesh grounding you in the here and now. He smelled like chalk and spaghetti, his wheezing almost completely gone. You weren't hallucinating - he really was here.

"How did you get here?" you asked disbelievingly, barely above a whisper.

No way in hell he would have been invited to the wedding.

"Sans has his way, I have mine." he answered cryptically "But please don't change the subject. I feel like something is very wrong-!"

He hardly had time to finish his sentence before you threw your arms around his neck, shocking him so much that he fell back onto his coccyx, leaving you balancing on his large rib cage, feet only just grazing the floor.

"U-um!"

With a start, you instinctively covered his mouth with your hand, although logically there was no reason to do so, but he understood the gesture and quietened down. Not a moment too soon, either, as the door to the attic creaked open, you name being called up the stairs by Edge.

"Dinner's ready." he informed you "Are you coming down?"

"Give me just a minute, Edge." you replied "I have to wash this glue off my hands anyway."

"Okay. Don't be long, Wing is already annoyed that I had to come get you."

The door closed, and the two of you remained silent until you heard the stomp of Edges boots disappear. Sugar looked like he was putting 2 and 2 together, but wasn't coming up with 4.

"You're right." you told him quietly "Something is very wrong! Anna and I have been kidnapped, and I'm being forced to get married to keep her safe."

Sugar opened his mouth to respond, but you shushed him desperately.

"Shug, buddy, if they catch you here then you're dead. I don't care how it is you got here - all I need to know is if you can get me and Anna out. You don't even have to take us home, just far enough away from here that they can't follow."

Sugars eyes went wide, darting about for a moment before a look of stricken grief passed his face. You didn't even need to hear his answer to know what it was.

"Okay..." you said, taking your hand from his mouth "Okay..."

Sugar noticed you shaking before you did, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

"I can't take you with me." he apologised, quiet but urgent "But... but I'll think of something! I will!"

"Please don't take too long." you begged "This joke of a wedding is tomorrow."

You both flinched when Wing's voice called up the stairs. With a final desperate look at Sugar, you hugged him tight, kiss him on the forehead and stood up, putting on your best bitch face.

"Alright, already, keep your hair on!" you yelled back, steeling yourself for a tense dinner as you descended the stairs.

* * *

 

It was a lovely day, warm without being too hot, with a cool breeze blowing across the lake. All the junk, machine parts and exercise equipment had been cleared from the island, replaced by soft coloured flowers, draped fabric and string lights. There were vases, troughs and urns full of flowers of all kinds, dotted about classily to lead the bride from the house to the altar. It even smelled nicer.

The dress Red had made was exactly what you had come to expect of his tailoring abilities - it was a simple white satin gown in a modern cut, embellished with embroidery of yet more flowers, with actual pearls sewn into it. The jewellery Red had taken from his spoils had been put to good use, be they sewn into the gown, used to adorn the bouquet or for their intended purpose, and you found yourself draped in pearls and silver, wearing a tiara that you would have considered overkill even if you had been the one to pick your outfit. For the first time since your abduction, you had what passed for shoes, even if the size of the ornate heels made it difficult to walk. Red had even made Anna a cute little bridesmaid dress, the shorter skirt of which served to highlight the bulky cast covering her leg.

It was noon when the wedding began, giving you the morning to get dressed, watching every shadow for signs on your friend. You tried to stay calm - it wasn't like this wedding would be legitimate in any court of law - but the unknown of what would happen after this gnawed at you. You had some idea, of course, but the specifics of your new 'married life' remained out of your grasp. You weren't sure about Red, but you knew Wing was eager for you to start producing babies, and monster gestation was far shorter than humans. Would Red want you to cross the last line of intimacy for monsters and unite your souls? The idea terrified you, far more than some fake wedding could. That was something far harder to undo.

The buzzing in your chest wouldn't stop, like bees made of anxiety were desperately trying to find their way out. Your exhausted mind didn't think of anything much as you got dressed, leaving your hair down and as plain as possible in the last act of defiance you had left.

Soft piano music was being played from a boombox by the 'altar', where the congregation was waiting. They had at least given Anna a chair to sit on, but she was far less than comfortable if the look on her face was anything to go by. Wing stood where the officiant would, leafing through a book, while Edge stood with Anna. Red was at the alter in a morning suit, tailored impeccably with red details and dress shoes shined to the nth degree. He was grinning like a fool, his face lighting up like a firework when he saw you.

Stay calm. Breathe.

You tottered over the uneven ground as best you could in these stupid shoes, taking your own sweet time thank you very much, and handed your bouquet over to Anna as you passed. She looked like she wanted to immediately shout her objections to the union, but had the good sense to keep quiet. Red happily took your hands, beaming at you as he ran his thumbs over the backs of them.

"ya look great." he told you "perfect. yer like a dream come true."

"Thank you." you replied roboticly.

"Well, let's not put this off any longer." Wing announced, finding the bookmark and standing straight "Dearly beloved family, we are gathered here-"

"Do you hear that?" Edge suddenly said.

"Papyrus, don't interrupt." the eldest brother scolded.

"No, I hear it too..." Anna confirmed, looking around in confusion.

Everyone went silent, listening hard. Was that an engine? A boat? A helicopter? Where was it? 

Red pulled you closer, looking around in suspicion as Wing closed his book.

"Is that a speedboat?" Anna wandered.

"I-"

A shot fired.

       

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've read several stories where Papyrus has a way of getting around that's similar to Sans' shortcuts, but also quite different. I like to think that's true :)


	20. Dark Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!  
> And I mean that seriously. This chapter contains violence of both the brutal and sexual kind. While it is of the 'monster' variety, the implications are very clear. If you want to avoid it, stop reading at the part where Wing re-appears and move straight to the next chapter.

"FREEZE!" a voice ordered from oblivion "POLICE! HANDS IN THE AIR!"

The flurry of movement that followed the gunshot was almost comical for its drama - every window facing you was broken from the inside, half a dozen armed police crammed into each one, sights aimed squarely at the skeletons. More officers appeared from around the sides of the house, similarly armed and dressed in full tactical gear, while the boat you had all heard pulled up to the island bearing even more police officers. A cursory glance around told you that some were local police, some from the monster/human special relations branch, and the rest from Miles' unit.

You knew immediately that this was Sugar's doing, but the numerous assault rifles aimed in your general direction stopped you from celebrating. None were aimed directly at you or Anna, with so many red dots covering the skeletons that it looked like they were wearing polkadot suits. The monsters themselves were bizarrely calm, which put you more on edge than the arrival of the officers.

"Step away from the altar!" the same voice ordered "Humans this side, skeletons that side!"

"My sisters leg is broken." you informed them calmly, letting them see your hands "She can't move."

With a few coded hand gestures, a few of the officers crept forward, not taking their rifle sights from Edge, and retrieves Anna, backing away in the same fashion. The girl almost burst out crying immediately, throwing her grateful arms around friendly shoulders.

"Your turn." the officer in charge said to you, gesturing you away.

You kicked off the ridiculous shoes, slow and deliberate so they could see easily what you were up to, but before you could take a step, Red grabbed your arm and held firm.

"take the kid if you want, but this one's mine." he growled.

He was instantly covered in more red dots. You couldn't imagine how this must look to the officers, with you in a wedding dress by a makeshift altar when they know full well you were kidnapped.

"Release the human, Sans." the officer ordered again "Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."

That seemed to be the magic phrase, as Red and Wing suddenly grinned.

"it ain't fun if it's not difficult."

An army of giant skulls materialised over them, signalling the start of chaos as they blasted in every direction.

"Do try not the damage the house too much." Wing teased as he opened up one of his black holes and stepped into it.

Seconds later, the window to the living room exploded with massive black tentacles, capturing the officers there and throwing them around like screaming ragdolls. Edge was more visceral, summoning a legion of sharp bone attacks and flinging them every which way. This was only a distraction for his true aim - creating a wall of bones between the three of you and the officers. You instinctively tried to hit the deck as the sound of gunfire rung in the air, but Red held your arm too tight, pulling you right up against him.

With the whoosh of air and the feeling of your stomach hitting the floor, you were shortcutted away to a familiar attic room.

"stay here and be quiet." Red told you, kissing your forehead tenderly "i'll be back."

He chuckled as he backed away, throwing up his hands in an amused shrug.

"what's a weddin' with a little drama?"     

His disappeared, and like hell were you staying here. There was only one way the police could have gotten into the house, and that was the flower tunnel. That heavy new door was designed to keep you from getting out, Wing probably hadn't considered that others might try to come in, and with them being so busy with the wedding preparations, they hadn't replaced the camera you had destroyed. 

You immediately ran down the stairs and pulled open the attic door, the sound of gunfire, screams, and the whine of the blasters deafening as you stepped into Edges room. You ran along the hall and stopped on the landing, peaking carefully around the wall - you could see some officers holed up in the dining room, which led to the kitchen, which led to freedom, but you knew Wing was around here somewhere. Long bones embedded themselves in the wall from outside. Something exploded. You had to move fast.

With a sprint and a jump, you leapt up on the banister and slid down, the smooth satin of your dress proving the perfect lack of friction, and landed at the bottom of the stairs, where you barrelled into the dining room. The officers barely noticed you, busy with the numerous bone attacks in the floor and floating animals skulls trying to get in the windows, but one did see you, and you recognised him as a colleague of Miles'.

"Here, take this!" he ordered, giving you his side arm "Get out of here!"

You didn't need to be told twice, taking the gun and heading for the kitchen. It was here you found Anna, hiding under the table with her hands over her head, eyes screwed shut. She screamed in fright when you touched her, but quickly threw her arms around you.

"Anna, we have to go." you said sternly as you fished her out of her hiding place.

She blubbered, panicked and incoherent, as the sound of gunfire and the smell of magic surrounded you.

"They're dying!" she shrieked "They're dying!"

All the more reason for you to leave. Grabbing the hem of your skirt, you tore the seam up all the way to your hip, not caring in the slightest about your exposed underwear for the moment as you shoved the gun in your garter-belt, and went to grab Anna.

"You can't carry me!" she cried, flinching away from you.

"Haven't you learned by now?" you answered sedately, hoping to calm her down "Don't underestimate me."

She continued to fluster and blubber as you grabbed her, flinging her over your shoulders in a fireman's carry, which caused her to swear loudly as you headed for the metal door. It stood open, the lock ruined from the inside by what you could only assume was some kind of acid, and you headed down into the basement. Anna screamed, and you flinched violently as you ran into a figure, but they jumped back just as violently.

"NOT THE FACE!!"

"Sugar!" you cried.

"Sugar?!" Anna echoed in bewilderment.

Sugar cried your names to complete the circle, wrapping his arms around you both. An explosion rocked you from above, accompanied by the sound of screaming.

"We have to go!" you and Sugar yelled at once.

He threw open the other door, ushering you into the tunnel. 

"S-should I stay?" he asked "The officers-"

"They're professionals, let them handle it!" you told him "Civilians should steer clear!" 

He needed no more incentive as the shot of a blaster crashed through the ceiling a few feet away, followed by the sound of gunfire. You both took off sprinting, putting as much room between you and the threat as possible. Sugar reached the door first, throwing it open before you got there are ushering you through.

"Where's Miles?!" Anna shrieked.

"He's at the entrance!" Sugar told her, his wheezing starting to get worse "They said he was too involved!"

"Good work getting them, Shug!" you cried.

"They were chomping at the bit already, I just pointed them in the right direction!"

Now you didn't have to be silent, you ran through the tunnels in a matter of minutes, the flowers echoing your thundering footsteps and heavy breathing.

"How did you know about the tunnel?" you asked as Sugar shut another door behind you.

"Because of the layers!" he told you.

"The what?"

"It's how I get around - kinda like the shortcuts?"

"I am seriously gonna be sick if you don't put me down!" Anna suddenly yelled.

 You both stopped running, listening intently; the sound of gunfire and blasters was gone completely.

"Okay..." you consented, still paying careful attention as you crouched down and released her.

She almost collapsed onto the dirt, breathing hard despite not having been the one running. She wa stressed, of course - you all were. While she and Sugar caught their breath, you stretched your muscles to warm them up further, conscious of the many stairways that lay ahead of you.

The sound of the door opening made you freeze, all heads whipping around to the direction you had come. Your stomach bottomed out as you saw Edge - he had a new crack running down his skull, his clothes were wrecked, and from the looks of it he had a few broken bones. You all held your breath - yes, he had tried to help you, but he was also one of them...

You got the message as he formed a bright red bone sword in one hand.

"You remember that favour you owe me?" he asked, voice almost robotic "'No questions asked', I believe you said?"

"Edge, buddy, don't do this..." you urged.

" _Scream_." he ordered.

He lunged at you, sword raised high, but was blocked by Sugar, who had created a massive spear in his signature orange.

"Get out of here!" he told you "I'll handle Edge!"

"You're not a fighter!" you knew.

"Stay out of this, _Crooks_." Edge hissed "Your level is nowhere close to mine."

"I'm not completely LVless either..." he admitted sadly, still struggling against Edges force "Just go!"

"Sug-!" Anna protested, but was stopped short when you hauled her up, throwing her over your shoulder as you felt dangerous magic start to manifest behind you.

Once you got to the next room, you put her down just long enough to get her back in the proper carry, mentally preparing yourself for the stairs ahead. A dozen sharp bones embedded themselves in the door behind you, spurring you on. You could already hear Sugar struggle...

"How could you just leave him?!" Anna shrieked at you "I thought you were friends!"

"He came here to save his friends, and we're going to be saved!" you argued "Now stop talking!"

The stairs passed by in a blur, your mind hardly recognising you'd gotten to them, even as you descend the third lot.

Everything hurt now - your body wasn't built for carrying another person like this, and the pace you were setting was brutal, but you couldn't allow yourself to slow down: a single stray blaster shot, and this entire tunnel system would flood. Edge was fast - faster than you could ever be - and if he got past Sugar... you wanted as much room between you as possible. Breathing was harder and harder, your knees and shoulders were screaming at you to stop, as was Anna, but adrenaline pushed you on.

You could still hear Edge and Sugar fighting. Dust and dirt fell from the ceiling as something rocked the tunnel. You couldn't spare a thought for the officers you'd left behind, single minded in your goal - the next room. The next room. _The next room._

You came to a dead stop as your disbelieving eyes saw the winding metal staircase leading up. You were here already?

"Stop stop stop you're gonna have a heart attack!" Anna was practically screaming, hitting your back with her palms "Put me down, please!"

You did put her down, startling her enough that she fell back onto her butt on the stairs. You put your hands on yours knees and allowed yourself to breathe, noticing the pieces of broken camera all over thefloor.

"Anna?!" a voice yelled from high above.

"MILES!" she yelled back "Miles, we're here! We're down here!" 

"I'm coming down!"

"Don't be stupid, soldier!" you called up at him "You keep that exit open!"

The light disappeared, plunging the entire tunnel behind you into unnatural darkness. Your hackles rose immediately - it was the crystals that gave off the light, not electricity, they shouldn't be able to just turn off. Anna seemed to realise this too, calling your name tensely. You went to grab her up again, using the natural light filtering down from the top of the stairwell to see, but instead you were the one grabbed, Anna screaming when she saw the gelatinous black tentacles wrapped around your waist.

Before you could react you were pulled backwards, into the dark, flailing for purchase you never found. The tentacles released you, your momentum causing you to fall back to the ground, only... the pain never came. The ground was... it felt like nothing. It barely even felt like it was the ground - were you really facing up? The smell of flowers had disappeared as well. You should still have been able to hear Anna, to see some light from the door you had just been pulled through, but there was nothing.

Literally, absolutely, nothing.

You got to your feet, looking all around, but you couldn't see the door anywhere. It felt like you were standing on solid air.

That's when you remembered Wing's black holes. Was this... inside one of them? And those tentacles...

You were immediately on high alert. He was here somewhere.

A quiet laugh caught your attention, and you spun towards it. In the total darkness, you could only see his head and hands, standing out like beacons in the black.

"Not going to scream, dearest?" he asked you "You are brave."

The cracks on his face had gotten worse, the purple lights of his eyes disappearing entirely.

"Wing..." you had to think fast "Where are the others?"

"Gone." he said simply "My baby brother underestimated that human-eating freak, and Sans... well, it wasn't pretty."

"You're lying." you knew.

"Interesting alteration to your dress." he continued anyway "Can't say I don't like it."

"Is this one of your black holes?" you asked "Where are you taking me?"

"Taking?" he echoed, poising his hands together elegantly "Dearest, we're already here. Welcome to the void."

You looked all around. 'Void' was certainly a good descriptor for this place.

"Why are we here? Where's Red?"

"Gone." he repeated "Gone. Just like my house, my career, my lab. Gone just like your sister, your family, your future. None of that exists in this place."

"You're awfully calm for someone who's lost everything." you noted.

Wing gave you that horrid, knowing smile of his. His face and hands got bigger, suggesting he was moving closer, but the smoothness with which he slid forward sent a shiver down your back. 

"Lost?" he repeated "This is merely a setback. You shouldn't have all your eggs in one basket, after all."

You backed away from him, an action which didn't go unnoticed. His grin grew wider as he stepped forward.

"But I must admit to feeling somewhat aggrieved." he said smoothly "My brothers were very, very dear to me, of course, and now they're gone. They were my family."

You kept backing away. You didn't like that look in his eye.

"And I feel you are at least partially responsible for this current state of affairs." he went on "Dearest, it's only fair that you make some recompense for this, wouldn't you agree?"

"The fuck are you talking about?"

Your back hit something. Before you could register what it might be, you felt a tentacle wrap around your ankles and pull, sending you careening back to the ground. Wings hands grabbed your wrists, pinning them down, but you also felt them on your shoulders, on your ankles, on your hips. Finding his face again in the dark, you could see he still had his hands tented in front of it. What kind of magic was this?!

"It's because of you that I don't have a family anymore." he said simply "Don't you think it's only fair to provide me with a replacement?"

In a blink, his face was directly above yours. A cold sweat ran over you when the true meaning of his words sank in, and you started to struggle desperately against his grip.

"Get the fuck off me!" you swore as you thrashed, but Wing just laughed.

You felt more pairs of hands run up your legs, a heavy weight settling on you in the dark. You continued to struggle in every direction, but his grip was completely unyielding. 

"Where would you even go?" he asked you "If you could escape me? You can't leave the void without my magic."

He laughed, a cruel and sinister sound.

"Maybe I should let you go." he teased "Let you run, let you wear yourself out. See what games we can play with one another."

"Fuck you!"

"That's the idea, yes." he smirked.

He placed his original pair of hands over your chest, and you felt a horrid stuttering you had felt only once before in your life.

Your soul materialised out of your body, right by his hands. The cracks you had seen before were much worse, but the shining pink was as strong as ever.

"Beautiful..."

"Get off me!!"

His hands touched your soul, sending a jolt through your entire being. It felt like you were being touched literally everywhere, the feeling of his hands on your flesh blending in and mixing together until you didn't know what was where. It was an unbelievable violation, and you rejected it with every fibre of yourself.

"The longer you fight me, the worse this will be." he warned you calmly.

You felt his grip tightening, your entire body seizing from the sensation.

"Better. The sooner you learn how to behave, the more pleasant this will be for the both of us. Not that I don't like a bit of fight in you, of course."

With a shuffle in the blackness, he pulled out his own soul, a dingy grey thing inverse to yours, and started to bring the two together.

No! No, no, no! You weren't going to let this happen! You'd die before you allowed this! Wing had to have a weakness!

His attention was so focused on what he was doing, he didn't notice his grip on one of your wrists had loosened. Loosened, but not let up. What could you even...?

You knew immediately, twisting your hand around as far as it would go and grabbing ahold of that fucking hole in his palm. You twisted it back again, breaking his grip and his bones, causing him to yelp loudly. His grip everywhere else loosened as he recoiled in pain, and you used the opportunity to grab the gun from your garter, shove it point blank into his face, and fire.

Noting happened.

You pulled the trigger again, and again. The gun didn't even click.

"Physics doesn't work the same here in the void." he admitted, cradling his broken hand "Probably should-"

You didn't let him finish, pistol-whipping him in the head. Both souls disappeared from his hands as he fell to the side. Yes, he was big, and yes, his magic was strong, but he was still a monster, and your intent to hurt him would do more damage than the business end of your useless fucking gun. And you _did_ want to hurt him. You wanted to maim him.

You wanted to dust him.

Since his skull was all you could see, that was what you aimed for, striking it again and again with the butt of the gun. He tried to cover it with his hands, but the long phalanges broke like dry kindling under the force of the metal. He was saying something - maybe he was even begging - but you couldn't hear him anymore. You just kept hitting him.

It took a while for you to realise you weren't hitting anything any more. A strange powder coated your hands and the butt of the gun, and you were alone.

Your pulse was pounding in your ears as the adrenaline started to ebb, leaving you dizzy. You threw up into the dust in front of you. With a final shuddering gasp, you collapsed.

* * *

 

You had no concept of time in this place. There was no light, natural or otherwise, no sound other than what you made yourself, which disappeared fractions of seconds later without even echoing. It wasn't cold, it wasn't hot. It was nothing. There was nothing to touch, nothing to see. Were you facing up? Down? To the side? It was impossible to really know. You were only on your feet because you decided to be, and found to your detriment that the second you decided not to be, you weren't, slamming painfully in any given direction or floating aimlessly into the nothing. You were starving, dying of thirst, but at the same time you had never been more full. You were tired, overwhelmed, overstimulated trying to find any sign of anything.

This was hell. It had to be. You were being punished for your sins.

How long had you been walking? You didn't know. You had no concept of time in this place. The only thing you knew for certain was that you were alone. Horribly, horribly alone.

You kept walking. What else were you going to do?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a lighter note, the comments I keep getting never fail to make me smile! You should see the grin on my face whenever someone guesses something correctly or says something I'm planning without even realising it :D


	21. An Unexpected Change in Perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people were worried about Edge's fate in that last chapter. No love for poor Red? 8)

The metal chairs were incredibly uncomfortable. How many times could she tell the same story? Where were her parents? Why was this room so unpleasant?

Anna wrapped her brothers coat closer around her. Where were you? The horrid gnawing in her gut wouldn't stop. When the police were finally done questioning her, they led her to the front desk, where her mum and dad were waiting, huddled together with stiff backs and exhausted eyes. They both cried when they saw her, wrapping her in a hug so tight she was sure her ribs would break. She cried as well, holding onto them for dear life, an anchor of normality in all the madness that had been happening. She saw her mother look up and around, looking for someone. Looking for you. But you weren't there. The look on her face when she realised...

It was too late for magic to heal her broken leg, so after getting it set properly at the hospital, Anna had no choice but to wait for it to heal on its own. It took a couple of days to finally get home, her parents weirdly quiet when it came to do with you. Nana looked like she had aged ten years, while Suzy burst out screaming and crying, throwing herself in Anna's lap the second her father helped her onto the sofa. Nana did the same double-take, looking for you, covering her mouth with her hand when she didn't see you.

If not for the fact that Anna couldn't get up the stairs unaided, she would have locked herself in her room and never come out. She wasn't mentally or emotionally equip to handle everything that had happened, and without you around to guide her, she had lost her north star.

You were amazing. She had always known that - you were cool and strong and capable, the kind of sibling anyone would love to have - but seeing you in a crisis, seeing you responsible and in charge... she had a new respect for you, something far deeper than what she had known before. You had been incredible, but you had never stopped caring about her - even when you were scared, even when your very life meant acting fast, you hadn't left her behind. She had loved you before, but now she idolised you.

And you were gone.

No-one knew where you were, if you were alive or not. Seconds after you had been pulled into that darkness, the light had returned. Miles had run down the stairs irresponsibly fast when he heard Anna's screams, but he couldn't find you. No-one could find you. Not then, not now.

Seven weeks passed. School started again, but Anna didn't go. She couldn't look at the world the same way. Her leg healed and the cast was removed, but she didn't go back to wearing her old clothes. She felt like she had outgrown them, somehow, like they belonged to a version of herself that she had outgrown. She wore yours instead, even though they didn't really fit, but it kept you close. Sometimes she would catch a glimpse of herself in a mirror or shiny surface, and for a solid second she thought it was you.

Her parents had made her go to therapy - the same therapist that you had seen. Knowing what she knew now, she couldn't help but be mad at them. You had seen everything, every red flag, every suspicious word, but they hadn't believed you. Sure, neither had Anna, but she was a stupid kid! What the hell did she know?! The therapist was an adult, they should have seen the signs! So were her parents... Everyone had missed the signs. Every adult she relied on had let her down. Had let you down. Therapy didn't help the growing bitterness inside her go away.

It was 3am. Anna sat on her bed, watching a youtube tutorial on how to disarm an attacker. On the side of her screen, her old favourites of make-up tutorials and let's plays begged her to be watched, but she just didn't care for them any more. They used to seem so important to her, but now...

A light flicking on in the house next door caught her attention as it flooded the room with its glow. She looked around to see Sugar in his brothers room, looking around awkwardly for a while. He had done this a few times in the past couple of weeks, trying to psyche himself up to pack away the last of his brothers things, but always backed out again. His cute blue braces had been replaced by full orthodontic head gear after what Edge had done to him, but seeing them didn't upset Anna. As far as she was concerned, he was the one person who had actually come through for you. She included herself in that list.

Seeing him still just stood there, Anna got up and opened her window, startling Sugar as she knocked on his. He seemed grateful for the interruption, coming over to open it.

"Hey Anna." he greeted "It's awfully late. Trouble sleeping?"

"Something like that." she excused "Packing up?"

"Trying to." he shrugged, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly "The, uh... the police are done with Axe. They say he can't be held responsible for anything due to his mental state."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Kind of. One wrong step and they'll have him committed, but for now we're in the clear... Any word?"

Anna looked away from him, not able to stand his hopeful eyes. Even from the corner of her eye, she saw him deflate.

"Oh..."

"I think that-"

Sugar suddenly flinched, holding up his hand to silence her. She went quiet as Sugar cocked his head, listening intently. Anna strained her ears to listen as well, and that's when she heard it - heavy booted footsteps walking around in Sugar's house.

"Is it Axe?" she whispered.

"Not a chance." he knew.

He immediately summoned a large bone, turning his back on Anna and tip-toeing to the door. The young lady immediately dove to the floor and stuck her hand under your bed, reaching up into the divan and pulling out your taser. Pulling on her trainers, she hopped up on the windowsill and stepped over the gap between the houses, something she had seen you do many times, but never dared attempt herself. Sugar held his hand out to stop her going ahead of him out the door, creeping out onto the landing.

A large rifle was pressed to his skull, stopping him in his tracks.

"'Sugar', I assume?" a deep voice inquired.

Anna knew that voice. Just barely, but it was ringing a bell in her head.

"I am." he confirmed, looking around ever so slightly to see who it was "And you, sir?" 

"You know my kid." the voice told him, the metallic click of an old zippo lighter echoing around the near-empty house.

And that's when it clicked in Anna's head who it was. With an enraged scream, she ran from the room, pushing past Sugar and right into your father, who she proceeded to pound and kick at.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" she screamed as she thrashed at him "WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?! All your talk, all your fucking training and preparation, and you weren't even there! You weren't there! Where were you?!"

The adrenaline ebbed, and it occurred to her that that had been a very stupid thing to do. However, your father had taken her anger without so much as budging, moving only to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You're right." he conceded "I wasn't fast enough. By the time I got there, the police had already arrived."

Hot, angry tears rolled down Anna's face as she pushed herself away from him. The old mans eyes travelled her up and down, noting the clothes she was wearing, but he didn't say anything about it.

"What the fuck do you want now?!" she cried "It's too late! You wanna do something useful, get out there and find those fucking psychopaths!" 

"Relax, little missy." he said, ruffling her hair "Swearing doesn't suit you. And I've been doing nothing but looking."

She slapped away his hand, making him laugh. She didn't imagine for a moment that she intimidated him, but she glared at him all the same. He looked back at Sugar, his smile disappearing.  

"You and Edge." he started "You're alternates, right?"

Sugar was so surprised that his bone attack disappeared, and he floundered to come up with a response.

"I...! We...! Clans...!" he stammered.

"Yeah yeah, spare me the story you freaks cooked up." your father interrupted, taking a drag from his cigarette "Just answer my question."

Sugar looked at Anna nervously, wringing his hands. What the hell was an 'alternate'?

"I... yes..." Sugar admitted begrudgingly "But we're really not anything alike!"

"It's you being alike that I need." the older man admitted, signalling for them both to follow him as he headed back down the stairs.

Anna and Sugar shared a look, but didn't say anything as they followed him back to the ground floor. Seeing him stop in the living room, Sugar went to say something, but immediately closed his mouth: Edge was chained to one of the chairs, barely conscious. One of his legs was missing from half way up the femur, the other missing it's tibia. Most of his teeth were gone, and although Anna couldn't see it, she could be sure at least a few of his fingers were gone as well. She did notice Sugar stepping in front of her, shielding her from the worst if it, but didn't move to get away from him.

"Tell them what you told me." your father ordered Edge, hitting him with the butt of his rifle when he didn't respond.

"Th... void..." Edge slurred through his missing teeth.

"Oh stars!" Sugar cried, covering his mouth.

"Huh," your father almost laughed "Clearly means more to you than it did to me."

"I... yes, but... oh no, I can't..."

"Stop floundering." he ordered gruffly, pulling a face Anna had seen on you numerous times "Stop telling what you can't do and tell me what you can."

"I...I..." Sugar was shaking so hard Anna could hear his bones rattle "W-We need another Gaster, but even then there's no guarantee they'll be able to find them."

"What about the other option?"

"Other option?"

Your father looked back to Edge, smacking him again, causing him to cough up dust.

"Listen... the layers." he said weakly "Can hear... void..."

"Are you crazy?" Sugar asked him "Listen to the void?!"

"Not everything..." Edge shook his head as much as he could, twitching against his bonds "Only loud things... listen..."

Your father kicked the chair over, causing Anna to wince as Edge let out a strangled scream, no longer having the strength for anything more energetic.

"There any truth to that?" he asked Sugar, who flinched under his glare "Can you listen to this void place? Can you hear my kid if they're in there?"

"I... I mean..." he answered "Technically, yes, I could listen to the void, but it's driven more than one Gaster insane! The void is endless, and the things that live in it-!"

"All the more reason you should hurry up." he growled.

"I need help!" Sugar insisted.

"Then call help!" your father yelled "Call every skeleton, call the entire royal fucking guard for all I care! Get my kid back, or so help me I'm going to Frankenstein you and Edge together and use the results for target practice!"

Sugar ran off to get his phone, leaving Anna where she stood. She looked at Edge, broken and maimed on the ground. Hadn't he been in custody? She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He had been nice to her once. He had been nice to you too, and look how that had ended. Your father looked stressed, crushing his spent cigarette under his boot before instantly lighting up another one. Sugar soon returned, starting the first of many phone calls.

* * *

 

Papyrus stood in the padded room, watching his brother as he took the information in. Sans was shaking, reaching up to pull on his empty eye socket, only to stop himself and scratch his sternum. There was silence for a long time.

  
"what, uh..." he began unsurely "what are you guys doing?"

"We're taking turns 'listening'." he explained "Me, Creampuff, BB, Black... anyone who can use the layers. Those who use shortcuts are trying to help, but they're never in the void for more than a few seconds at most, so..."

"you guys have gotten close, huh?" Sans noted.

"The fells have done a terrible thing." he reasoned "They're just trying to help fix it."

"why? what's in it for them?"

"Sometimes doing the right thing is it's own reward."

His brother finally looked up at him, red eye quivering. He looked like he wanted to say something, but held his tongue.

"y'know, you're really cool." he said finally.

"Thanks."

"thanks for telling me." Sans said sincerely "between the hole in the head and the medication, my magic is for shit these days, but... I'll do whatever I can to help. they're my friend too, y'know?"

"I know." Papyrus agreed, kneeling down to give his brother a hug.

"what about anna?" he asked as he returned it.

"She couldn't just leave her parents again after what happened. She stayed behind."

"and edge?"

"He's... well... he's not dust, but if that lunatic takes out any more of his anger on him, he's going to wish he was."

"wrong place to use the word 'lunatic'." Sans chuckled humorlessly. 

"Sorry."

"i'm just teasing. keep up the good fight, bro. i'm rooting for you."

There were two sharp knocks on the door behind Papyrus, signalling the end of the visit. He gave his brother another hug before standing up and leaving.

* * *

 

It was snowing. Giftmas was just around the corner, but Papyrus felt like he had nothing to celebrate. His brother was stuck in the nut house, his best friend in the void, and he had two very unpleasant men squatting in his house. The snow was meaningless, the tacky decorations hollow. He just wanted everything back the way it was.

They had been trying so hard, working in shifts to try and listen to any noises coming out of the void, but even BB and Creampuff were starting to give up. Not him, though. He couldn't give up, not as long as there was a single shred of hope for you. He was just... very, very tired. Shuffling his bag of groceries from one arm to another, Papyrus took a deep breath and sighed it out, dreading what awaited him inside his own home.

That man was still there, sat on the sofa with his dirty boots up on the coffee table, flicking through the channels.

"What's for dinner?" he asked by way of greeting, flicking the ashes of his cigarette on the floor.

"Use an ashtray!" Edge shrieked at him as he limped into the room, metal leg clicking and scratching on the hardwood floor "How many times do I have to tell you to use an ashtray?!"

"I don't recall this being your house." your father grumbled at him "Get me a beer, slugger."

"Get your own beer, I'm not your maid! Crooks!"

"Sugar." he corrected for the millionth time.

"Did you buy the ingredients I asked for?"

"Yes." Sugar sighed.

"Excellent!"

Edge reached out his arms to take the bag, but it was your father who grabbed it from him, scurrying away with a shit-eating grin.

"Hey!" Edge cried indignantly.

"It'll be in the kitchen when you finally waddle over here." the older man called over his shoulder.

Edge grumbled, limping after him. That wasn't actually that bad - at least they weren't throwing knives at each other today. Sugar looked at the mess your father had left in the living room, but he didn't have the energy to do anything about it. The mud and cigarette butts would still be there tomorrow. With another sigh, he shrugged off his winter gear and hung them up, his large coat covering the bullet and bone-attack holes in the wall. Passing the kitchen, he saw your father calmly teaching Edge how to make some kind of stew, the younger man listening to him with rapt attention. Sugar didn't understand their relationship even a little bit, even if they seemed perfectly happy with whatever the hell this was. 

Sugar went upstairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind him and collapsing down onto his bed. He was so tired. Tired of winter, tired of working on a checkout, tired of living with those two brutes. He wanted his brother back. He wanted his best friend back.

He pulled out his phone to read the message he had gotten while he was at work, finding it was Anna telling him about her day. She was catching up with everything at school and taking a self-defence class. She was doing better, which helped soothe his mind. Without you around, it was his job to worry about her - those were the rules. The phone slipped from his long fingers, hitting him square in the face, so he took it as a sign to stop trying for a while. The phone stayed on his face until he turned over onto his side, his headgear making him uncomfortable no matter how he lay. There was shouting downstairs, because of course there fucking was, so he grabbed the pillow from under his face and covered his whole head with it, drowning out the sound. He could still hear them, so he went to the only place he knew there would be silence.

He listened to the void.

Blissful silence engulfed him. He couldn't listen to the void too long without it driving him mad, but for a while it was peaceful. The void, the place that existed between the layers, had always scared him, but after so many months of listening to it he had become dulled to its horror. Sometimes it sounded almost blissful, at least for a while, but Papyrus couldn't allow himself to dwell on such thoughts - more than one Gaster had lost himself to the void thinking like that. The Gasters that were left were understandably reticent to mess with it, skirting around the issue whenever Papyrus called them.

A scream broke him out of his thoughts, startling him so much that he leapt straight up in bed. He looked all around, thinking for a moment that your father had turned the tv on too loud again, but remembered almost instantly - he had been listening to the void. A loud noise, Edge had said. The scream was sure as hell loud.

Papyrus put his feet on the floor, listening intently again. Another scream, this one almost manic, and it sounded just like you! He kept listening, pinpointing the sound as it echoed again, picking through the layers until he found the two between which the sound had come from. He had never reached between the layers before... Any apprehension he had disappeared when he head you scream again, and he plunged his hands between the layers, desperately reaching out for anything. His hands brushed flesh, and he grabbed it firmly. The body writhed in his grip, trying desperately to pull away, but he held firm, and with every bit of magic he had, started to pull the being out.

The screaming continued, getting so loud that Papyrus didn't even notice Edge and your father burst into the room, grabbing him around his waist and rib cage and pulling him back with all their might. He hadn't even noticed his feet had left the ground, nothing but his unwanted squatters keeping him anchored to the world as he knew it. His crooked phalanges started to ache and pull away from the rest of him, but he didn't let go, even as his head threatened to explode from the volume of the screams.

Like a damn finally bursting, something between the layers gave way, the body he was holding slipping out easily and crashing right into him, knocking him and the men holding him to the ground. Edge got up first, bone attack at the ready, but his panic soon passed when he saw who Papyrus had wrapped up tightly in his arms.

You. Breathing, unconscious, your entire body stained with darkness, but very much alive.

* * *

 Anna had never run so fast in her life. The second Miles had called her, she had left school, sprinting for the bus, and then down the halls of the police department until she found his unit's office.

And then there you were. Half a year after going missing, there you were. Your hair, skin and eyes were an unnatural black colour, and the old clothes someone had loaned you were starting to stain as well. Anna didn't care, running straight into you and throwing her arms around you, crying your name over and over again. You hadn't lost any weight, but you felt so frail, flinching under her touch, so she felt compelled to almost hold you up. Miles joined in, wrapping his arms around both of you, while the rest of his team started to clap.

Finally, everything was okay.

With the application of human food, sunlight and lots of rest, the black started to fade to your natural colours, but you remained very quiet, not able to stand loud noises or bright lights for too long, and hated being left alone. You didn't go back to work, and it was too late to start college, so you spent a lot of time at home. Your foster parents could keep an eye on you there, so they didn't mind. Your father, the useless bum, had disappeared again, taking that traitorous fucking skeleton back into the wilderness with him.

Anna could be strong for as long as it took for you to get better. And you would - in her mind, you were unstoppable.

It had been a lazy Sunday, and Anna was getting ready for bed as you pretended to read a book. She could tell you were pretending because you hadn't turned the page in close to half an hour.

"Something on your mind?" she asked you.

You looked up at her, your eyes still a little darker than their natural tone, but thankfully nothing like the pitiless black orbs you had had when you first reappeared.

"Wing is dead." you said quietly "Before he died, he told me his brothers were gone. I thought he was lying at the time, and the fact that Edge is currently getting some long awaited paternal attention from my father is proof of that."

"Makes sense to me." Anna agreed "Wing was a liar."

"What about Red?"

Just hearing his name made Anna's blood boil. She had very deliberately not thought about him for a long time.

"What _about_ Red?" she grumbled.   

"Where is he?" you went on "No-one confirmed they saw him die, no dust was found. With his ability to teleport, he could very well still be alive."

Anna ruminated on the thought a moment. You had a point, and not listening to you had bit both of you in the ass before.

"Let me go brush my teeth." she said "Then we'll talk about this properly, okay?"

You seemed surprised a moment, but nodded, putting a bookmark on your page as Anna left the room.

When she came back, full of ideas of how to deal with this, you were gone. She called your name, looking around, thinking maybe she just couldn't see you, but you didn't respond. Spying something unusual on your bed, she stepped over and took a closer look. The heck even was that? She picked the item up, turning it over in her hands as she inspected it.

A braided cord bracelet made from 'Big Red' gum wrappers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left, guys! How's it going to end?! Taking all bets!


	22. Plan C

You had gotten used to the void, after a while. The silence, the darkness. Once you just accepted it, it lost a lot of its power and became mundane. At least, you had thought so - the human brain wasn't designed to survive in such an environment, and the hallucinations soon began. Visual at first, then auditory. After awhile you could swear you felt things brushing against your skin, but that was impossible. You were alone in this hell, weren't you? You weren't sure which possibility horrified you more. It was only natural that your sanity had started to slip. The screaming? Just you giving up, desperately needing to hear something, to feel something.

Imagine your surprise when a pair of long arms emerged from the darkness to wrap around you. You thought you were hallucinating again, finally having gone completely mad, and fought against them, no matter how hard they kept ahold of you. After so long in the nothing, the fight soon exhausted you, and you gave up fighting under the knowledge that a hallucination couldn't actually hurt you. And then you woke up in Sugars bed. Your friend was crying. Your father was there.

Six months. Six months you had been in that hell. Six months of nothing, of silence and darkness. Six months alone with nothing but your own increasingly maddening thoughts. It had felt so much longer.

That's why you weren't scared of this place. Certainly, it was dark, but nothing was dark compared to the complete absence of light in the void. It was quiet too, but a surface level quiet - you could still hear the wind, the buzz of electricity, heavy footsteps behind and above you. You could feel the cold tiles under you, the ever so slight dampness of the wall behind you, the softness of the blanket you had been given, the unyielding hardness of the shackles around your wrists. This place, dreadful as it was, was a nice medium between the overwhelming nothing of the void and the overwhelming everything of home. The few days you had spent here were nothing compared to the void.

The air charged with magic - something you had become acutely aware of during your internment - and Red materialised into the room, stirring a saucepan with a wooden spoon.

"not quite as good as yers, but it'll do." he said, picking up the conversation thread as if it had only been seconds since he had left.

Hitching up his trousers, he sat on the floor in front of you, stirring the pot one more time before holding out the wooden spoon.

"taste?"

You did as requested, opening your mouth, and he slid the spoon in delicately.

"Kinda bland." you told him.

"didn't want to overwhelm ya." he admitted, spooning up more soup "y'know, wing used to throw me and paps in the void if we misbehaved? seemed kinda extreme for a couple of kids."

You appreciated the thought, if nothing else, as you allowed yourself to be fed.

"i think it's good that boss is gettin' some real world experience." he went on "help him become his own skeleton, y'know? the only other time he was away from home was his conscription, and that weren't exactly the best thing for him."

He kept talking, casual and lighthearted, stirring the soup every now and again to make sure it stayed hot. He had lost weight since the last time you saw him, but you supposed he must have been under quite a bit of stress with both his brothers gone and everything he owned confiscated by the police. Your heart bled for him.

Sarcastically, of course.

You finished the soup, Red putting the pot aside and digging around in his pocket, pulling out an after eight.

"say 'ah'" he bid as he unwrapped it, popping the minty chocolate in your mouth.

The whole thing would have been very sweet if you weren't chained to the floor in some kind of basement. In your underwear, no less.

"oh!" he startled, rooting around in his pocket again "i just remembered... ta da!"

He pulled a necklace out of his pocket, one that you recognised immediately as the red diamond he had given you before.

"i had to replace the chain and fittin', but i managed to get the black out of the diamond. i think the ribbon looks nicer anyway"

"I thought the police had that." you mentioned.

"did, lousy thieves." he admitted, completely unironically "but i got it back for ya."

He slipped the chain around your neck, giving you a kiss before backing away again, rubbing your cheek with his thumb and giving you an adoring expression. He must be unhinged, to still believe in this fantasy of love after everything that had happened. You had killed his older brother, you father had nearly killed his younger and was keeping him as some kind of pet, but he still looked at you like you were his every dream come true. You were loathe to interrupt this peaceful tableaux he was trying to create, but you were tired of this now. It had gone on too long, you just wanted it to end one way or another.

"Red?"

"hm?"

"What now?" you asked "What's your plan? Where is this going to end?"

He looked sad, still caressing your cheek.

"please don't ask me that." he begged "can't we just stay like this a little longer?"

"Hasn't this gone on long enough? Haven't we both lost too much to keep pretending?"

Red looked positively grief stricken, heaving an almighty sigh, but nodded all the same.

"yeah, I guess yer right." he said, falling silent for a while "i really do love ya, y'know?"

He kissed you again, teeth gentle against your lips, before finally standing up, returning to where-ever he had come from with a whoosh of misplaced air.  

* * *

 

He was gone for a long time. Under the door on the far side of the room, you could see the dissipating glow of streetlights which never wavered. Either it was an incredibly long night, or your sense of time was completely effed in the a. You had used the time wisely - first you had tried to get out of the cuffs, but the lock was out of reach, and if not for the bandages Red had wrapped around your wrists, they would have been sliced to ribbons for how tight the shackles were. You kept your ears peeled, but didn't hear anything other than a noise from the house every now and again, so screaming for help was out of the question too. You kept your muscles from seizing up by stretching as far as your restraints would allow, thinking over all possibilities for what Red's plan would be.

Whatever it was he said when he came back, you had a few ideas of how to deal with it.

When he eventually did come back, he didn't even bother to shortcut in, throwing open the door and stomping in heavily. His shoulders were sagged significantly, like he had the weight of the world on them, and he dragged something behind him that made your blood run cold.

It was an axe.

Shiny, sharp, and big.

Red noticed you looking at it, sighing and shaking his head.

"i want ya to understand." he said "i ain't wing, i ain't doin' this to punish ya. i looked up online the best way to do it so there wouldn't be any complications. this thing is so sharp, it'll cut right through in one swing."

"You're going to cut off my legs..." you knew.

"gotta make sure ya don't run away again." Red replied calmly "then we can start fixing this, puttin' things back the way they should be."

"You don't have to do that." you told him, trying desperately to stay calm even as you wanted to scream and run for the hills "I'll stay with you... by choice..."

"how can i trust ya?" he asked "when ya ran away on our wedding day, i... it really hurt me, y'know?"

You wanted to scream at him, let out all your righteous anger right in his face, but you swallowed it down. This wasn't the time.

"I-I'll prove it." you told him.

He looked at you disbelievingly. Now was the time to nut up or shut up.

"Soul bond with me."

Red's eye lights extinguished. He was so surprised, he dropped the axe on the ground.

"s... say that again, babe?" he asked.

"Soul bond with me." you repeated "That'll prove to you that I'll stay, won't it? That I'm telling the truth?"

You could have knocked Red over with a feather after that. He was completely speechless, eyes still dark, for a solid minute. Just as you were getting worried, he dove for you, wrapping his arms around you and kissing you with the passion of six months of repressed lust. With those razor sharp teeth against your fragile flesh, you almost felt like he was going to take a bite out of you. You kissed him back, playing the part, leaning into him as he pulled you against himself.

Patience... patience...

You could feel every rib in his chest, the rise of his hips as you were pulled against them, and... bingo!

With a swift knee straight in the sweet spot, you kicked Red's summoned member faster than you'd ever kicked a man in the privates before, with much the same effect, swinging your freed hand around and clocking him across the head for good measure. Between the pain and the disorientation, he fell paralysed to the ground, unable to even scream. Not that you would have listened - you were already out the door before he even hit the floor. How fortunate for you that he had come in the way! The door had been locked before when you'd checked it.

And the cuffs? What kind of self-respecting survivalist wouldn't be willing to dislocate their thumbs to escape their shackles? Your father taught you how to do that when you were seven!

Having seen it once already, it only took you a couple of seconds to realise you were in one of the undergrounds, most likely the Fell one considering your company. You located the exit to Waterfall and sprinted for it, ignoring the blistering cold snow on your bare feet.

"-cking bitch!" you heard some ways behind you as you reached it "just for that, i'm cuttin' one of yer arms off too!"

He'd have to catch you first. He may be able to teleport, but he was as predictable as a clock, and you spotted his footholds and jumping points long before he got there. You swerved as he appeared on one side of the hall, nearly going into the water. You jumped as he went for your feet from behind a large boulder, dived right between his legs as he tried to stop you in the middle of a river, and just kept going.

You couldn't stop to admire the look on his face - he wasn't even mad, even as bright red sweat started to build on his skull from the exertion.

"we are gonna have _so many_ babies..." you vaguely heard him say, but paid it no mind as you ran.

There was no point in your trying to find another monster - even if there had been any Fells left underground, they all hated each other, so asking for help was a waste of time. The long-solved puzzles stood in ruins, knocked down or shoved unceremoniously to the side. You remembered the path Edge had taken when he carried you through Axe's underground, not making a single wrong turn the entire way, and you hoped beyond hope it was because his was laid out the same way.

Through the room with the telescope, along the raised walkway with the columns on the side, jump over the gap as Red waited at the corner, slide around the next as he prepared to catch you jumping, keep him guessing as you got to the end. Through the long grass without even slowing down, even as it whipped at you and stuck to your flesh. Go straight, don't go over the bridge, jump the gap instead. You were surprised you didn't see him waiting there, or in the next chamber, or the next. You knew you couldn't have tired him out already, so you stayed sharp, trying to anticipate where he'd turn up.

You were forced to stop when you entered a pitch-black chamber. You followed the only path you could see, which led you to a large red crystal, half the spikes of which had been broken off. As you looked around for the exit, your hand brushed the crystal, igniting the next part of the path.

"Fucking puzzles!" you swore under your breath, but you crossed the room soon enough.

The next room was even worse, with dim lanterns that started to fade the second you touched them. You were tired out from running and couldn't reach the next one in time, plunging you into darkness. You froze, making no sound and listening - no footsteps, no misplaced air. For a horrible second your mind thought it was back in the void and started to panic, but you forced it down with rational thinking. Remembering where the lantern was, you crept forward silently. The second you pressed it, you took stock of your surroundings - you were alone, thank the stars - and memorised as much of the path as you could.

The light went out. You pressed it again for one last look at the path, only to find your view blocked.

"ya lost, cupcake?" Red asked, smiling down at you.

You tried to dive away, but Red was faster, grabbing you by the hair and pulling you back with such force that your back hit the ground. With a flash of metal, you realised he had gone back for the axe, pulling your legs up to your chest just in time as the metal collided with the waterlogged ground. You kicked Red hard in the chest, making him stumble back, and made a break for it along the path to the next room.

The light went out. You had misjudged the width of the path, scraping your shin against a painfully sharp crystal. Your sharp intake of breath was all it took for Red to find you, turning your soul blue and pinning you to the ground.

"babe, we ain't never gonna get bored of each other." he said, sounding almost excited by the idea "it's not even the honeymoon, and look how excited ya got me."

"Let me go!" you yelled at him, trying desperately to struggle free.

"stop fighting me." he countered, the light turning on again as he kicked it on his approach.

"Never!" you swore "I will never stop fighting you! I will never stop trying to get away!"

Red came to a stop in your eye line, axe slung casually over his shoulder. The way he was smiling made your blood run cold.

"good." was all he said.

He took the axe up, raising it high over his head.

The lights went off. The only thing you could see were those pitiless red eye lights, the shine of the axe high in the air.

_Click._

_Ding._

The hold on your soul released, and you instantly rolled away, just as the sharp edge of the weapon collided with the ground where your legs had been.

"what the fuck?!"

The lights came back on. Around Red's neck was a chunky collar with a large black box in its side. Red looked positively shocked, his eyes nothing but pinpricks, and reeled around. There was nothing behind him. On the other side of the room, someone laughed. You both spun around to face the voice.

Axe was stood there, completely nonchalant, with his hands in his pockets.

"s'up, red?" he asked.

"the fuck are ya..." Red started before shaking his head "y'know what, i don't care! just fucking die!"

Red raised his hand, but nothing happened. He looked confused a moment, swinging his arm around again. Still, nothing happened. His eye lights extinguished, the sweat on his brow getting worse.

Axe short-cutted across the room to you, turning your soul blue and putting you back on your feet. His eyes didn't leave Red for a second as he took off his coat and handed it to you.

"my magic!" Red yelled, clawing at the collar around his neck "the fuck is this?! the fuck did you do?!"

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Axe, but what the fuck?" you agreed as you zipped up the coat.

"just a little something your old man's been working on." he told you, finally looking at you now you were covered "since you 'insist on hanging around monsters'."

Red continued to claw at the collar, but found no clasp to unlatch. He couldn't pry off the black box, and the leather was too thick for him to claw through.

"How did you know where we were?" you asked Axe.

"let's just say i understand how this idiot thinks." he told you with a wink "are you hurt?"

"Not physically."

Red screamed in rage, capturing both your attention, and picked his axe back up.

"i don't need magic!" he cried, swinging it high above his head "it's about time i dusted-"

His face dropped as the axe was pulled right out of his hands. You all looked up to see Sugar, looking completely unimpressed, holding the weapon high above Red.

"ah..."

 _DING_.

The shorter skeletons soul was turned blue, and he yelped as he was lifted into the air.

"Shug!" you cried, practically running into his arms "You miraculous monster! How?!"

"I made the mistake of not listening to my brother once." he explained with a sad smile, kneeling down to your level to check you over "I wasn't going to do that again."

You once again looked at Axe, but he just shrugged, offering no further explanation.

"i owed you one." he said sheepishly.

Turning his back on Red was a serious mistake, as Sugar was kicked hard on the spine, shocking him so much that his grip in Red's soul disappeared, both falling to the ground.

"stay the fuck away from my mate!" he roared, picking up the axe from where it had dropped and charging.

With a hasty swear, Axe grabbed you and shortcut to the other side of the room. A crystal exploded as the weapon slammed into it, renewing the dying light.

"pap!" Axe yelled.

"I'm okay, go!" Sugar ordered.

Axe went to grab you again, but had to jump away as Red swung for him, the blade catching the very edge of his long sleeves.

"i'll kill you both!" he swore "i'll kill anyone who gets in my way!"

He took another swing, but Axe shortcut away again, and the weapon hit another, much larger crystal, becoming embedded in the shard. No matter how hard Red pulled, he couldn't dislodge it, so left it and whirled around to find his mark. You stayed out of the way, keeping to his back - you wanted to help your friends, but you did not want to be anywhere near him! He was practically foaming at the mouth, claws raised, ready to strike anything he could get close enough to.

Axe was next to his brother, who was still reeling, trying to help him up. Red snarled like a mad dog, leaping at them. You backed up, your foot hitting something that rocked - a sizeable piece of the crystal Red had broken before. Without even thinking, you picked it up and threw it, beaming Red right in the back of his skull with such force that it knocked him to the ground. Sugar and Axe immediately jumped on him, holding him down.

"tie his hands!" Axe yelled as he started to thrash.

"I can't let go!" Sugar yelled, also struggling.

You dove forward, shocking Sugar as you took the belt from around his waist with two swift movements, and used it to tie up Red's feet. You tore the ribbon from around your neck, using that to tie his wrists together.

"babe?!" he shrieked.

"Don't call me babe!" you yelled back, making sure the makeshift shackles were tight.

Finally, Red was exhausted, and stopped struggling and breathing hard. Sugar and Axe sighed heavily, also relaxing.

"this ain't how things were supposed to be." Red wheezed, hardly able to keep his eyes open "i had it all planned out... we were gonna be so happy..."

"How could we ever have been happy?" you asked him "You never once cared about me, only what you could get from me."

"i love you." he swore.

"Love? I think not. I know love, and whatever the hell is going on in that head of yours, it isn't love."

"i..." he argued "i..."

He passed out. Everyone was tense for a moment more, until you were all certain he was out cold. You almost collapsed yourself, but Axe caught you, holding you up.

"let's get the fuck out of here."   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left...


	23. Bitter Goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not expect that title drop to be as popular was it was O_O
> 
> And the Tangled reference? A complete accident...

Axe and Sugar spent Giftmas with your family. It was early the next day that they were due to move, so everyone agreed that spending the day together felt like the best way to say goodbye to their friends and neighbours. Your foster father spent most of the day trying to get the skeletons drunk, unsuccessfully, as Sugar wasn't much of a drinker and Axe wasn't allowed due to his medication. Miles had a well deserved day off, which he spent most of napping on the sofa until Suzy literally jumped in his lap and demanded he play with her. Your foster mother helped you in the kitchen to make an absolute feast, while Anna and Nana watched tv and gossiped in between opening presents and running after the resident toddler.

It had been a great day - a little unity is what you all needed. You laughed, you ate together, you talked about all sorts of nonsense until the sun went down, and then even longer. You watched some black and white movie until half of you fell asleep, at which point the skeletons went back to their house for one last night, and you carried a sleeping Suzy up to bed, followed by Anna, who was rubbing her eyes.

As you put Suzy in her crib, you noticed Anna checking the locks on the window, plugging in her phone and checking the knife she had secreted between her mattress and headboard was still there.

"How's therapy going?" you asked her quietly.

"It's fine." she replied noncommittally.

"Really? So filing your hairpins into shivs is just the fashion now?"

She jolted at that, having the courtesy to look ashamed of herself.

"You noticed that..." she mumbled.

"Hard not to." you pointed out.

With Suzy snugly under her blanket, you held out your arms to Anna, who gratefully jumped into them, hugging you tight.

"Aren't you scared?" she asked you.

"Anna-"

"You're the one they were after!" she went on "They ruined your life! Aren't you scared they'll come back?!"

You'd been wanting to have this talk with her for a while, but it never seemed like the right time. Breaking the hug, you took her over to the window.

"You see Mr Philips driveway?" you started.

"The one filled with weeds?" she asked "Yeah...?"

"When Mr Philips dumped all that tarmac on those plants, their life was pretty much over, right?" you explained "But look at them - those dandelions are growing right through the stuff. Those bumps and cracks? The roots from that big tree there, pushing it up. That green in the corner? Moss."

"What's your point?" she grumbled childishly.

"My point is that life is a very difficult thing to ruin." you told her "Life will keep going, regardless of your plans - or anyone else's. You can either let it grow wild and ruin your driveway, or you can take the time to cut the weeds back very now and then."

Anna glared at the driveway across the street, clearly trying to think about how your analogy applied to her. You put your arm around her shoulders.

"You've been through a traumatic event." you went on "Nothing will ever change that. But what happens now is completely within your control. You can either let the trauma define you, become paranoid and end up in the middle of the woods like my old man, or you can choose to make positive decisions in your life. Keep going to therapy. Let people help you. Give yourself time to heal."

Anna sniffed, clearly trying not to cry as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"How are you so okay?" she asked you "Why aren't you a worse fucking mess than I am?"

"Swearing doesn't suit you." you chastised "And honestly? You forget that I've already been a mess. Back when I first came here. I've already done the therapy. I've learned to let people help me. The lessons that I learned then are still good."

"That therapist is an idiot." Anna grumbled.

"Maybe. But they're an idiot who helped me, and they'll help you too if you actually let them."

"I don't want their help."

"Then what do you want?"

Anna couldn't answer that. She crossed her arms as she leaned into you.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" she asked.

"On one condition."

"What?"

You pulled away from her a little to look her in the eye. She was still pouting.

"Take therapy seriously." you told her "Even if you feel like you need to find another doctor. Take your recovery seriously."

Her eyes started watering again, but she nodded all the same. You pulled her into another hug before going to bed.

* * *

 

There was panic the next morning when no-one could find you. Your bag and some of your clothes and shoes were gone. It was Nana who found your phone, laid neatly on the kitchen table with your house keys and a hand written note. Everyone gathered around as your foster mother read it aloud.

' _Hey guys,_

_I know you're probably pretty worried right now, so let me first say that I'm okay. I left of my own free will and am completely safe._

_Secondly, let me say how sorry I am to have to do it this way. You guys have been the best family I ever could have hoped for. I love each and every one of you, and I wish there was a way to do this without causing you any pain, but there isn't. If I told you what I was planning, I knew you'd try to stop me._

_I've given this a lot of thought. It's only a matter of time before Red escapes somehow - maybe the battery in that collar dies, maybe the wiring shorts, maybe he manages to break it - and when that happens, he'll be out of custody in half a blink. When that happens, I want to be as hard to find as possible, and that means putting as much distance between me and the life I have now as I can. This isn't what I wanted. I was happy here. I was happy with the life I had. The life you all helped me build. But there's no point in wishing things were different._

_I'm not going to spend my life jumping at shadows and peeking around corners. I'd go crazy with worry every time someone wasn't home on time, knowing that he could have you. My going away is what's best for all of us._

_Please don't try to find me. I'll be in touch when I'm settled._

_I love you all_.'

The silence that followed was sickening. Nana just covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head in sad acceptance. Your foster father rounded on Miles and demanded to know why he wasn't already on the phone with his team to find you, while your brother tried to explain his reasons for respecting your wishes. Poor Suzy just looked between all the adults, completely clueless as to what the new drama was. Your foster mother started to hyperventilate as Anna grabbed the letter, reading it over and over, turning it this way and that, looking for any secret or clue as to where you were.

When she found none, she slammed it down on the table, storming out of the house with just enough time to grab her coat. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't know what she was doing. She just knew she had to do something. Half way down the street, she passed Mr Philips driveway, overgrown with weeds and grasses, and she paused. In a fit of rage, she ran across the street and started to pull the plants from the soil.

* * *

 

The rumble of the truck was weirdly soothing. It had been a while since you had driven one, but it came back to you easily. Axe snoozed on the passenger seat, having fallen asleep almost immediately, while Sugar took up the entire back seat sitting sideways, methodically making his way through a bumper book of puzzles. It was cute the way he stuck his tongue between his teeth, tapping his headgear with the pen as he thought. The radio was on, and the GPS occasionally barked orders at you, but other than that there was silence. The back of the truck contained all the skeleton brothers worldly possessions, while a lifetime of practice had taught you to reduce your essentials to two bags, both of which were shoved under your chair.

'[100 Years](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GX0Zf4FMI)' started playing on the radio. You tried not to think about it as you kept driving.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fade to black. Credits roll.
> 
> And we're done, ladles and germs! Man, this was a blast! I've never had a fic be so popular before :) Special thanks to those of who who commented on every single chapter as it went up: you are, without hyperbole, the kind of readers that writers love the most! Watching you all rage and theorise has been an absolute pleasure, and I've loved seeing your takes on the story.
> 
> Did it end the way you thought? What do you think the reader should have done? I genuinely want to know!
> 
> I've got so many ideas of stuff to write now, but I'll start with something simple - a sequel! It probably won't be nearly as dramatic, but a proper love story... probably... maybe... we'll see. Look out for Love? For Real? coming soon!


	24. Author's Note - Major Edit

Hello lovelies!

So as the title suggests, I've done some major editing while I wait for my writers block to end.

I've fixed the tense problem, corrected typos, and smoothed out the repetition, but there's been no change to the story proper.

Those of you who like to download fics, I recommend re-downloading the edited version, just to make it easier to read if nothing else.

You also officially have permission to tell me if I've missed any other problems!

And yes, I will be doing the same with Love? For Real? as well.

 

Ciao for now!

Kassy


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